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Hami 1  ton,  Ontario 


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I 


DENIZENS  OF  THE  DEEP 


'I 


•nii;  siiAUK  i'.\ssi;i>  r.M.KK  the  huoad  hiuje  of 

11  IK    SI  1 1 1'.-     /  .,,/,    /(/.;. 


i-y 


I-:  OF 


Dcni/cns  of  the  Deep 


./*.      J. 


By  '     CtXc*-^****^  CA^k^^i 

FRANK  T.  lU  L  1.1:N   l.U.G.S.     .  ^        _ 

Author  of  "  Tlu-  Lruue  of  The  Cachukt,    etc.       >^/^^    -"  ^  yW 


WITH  Ilir-TUXTION'  "Y 

THEODORE    CARRERAS 


New   York  Chicago  Toponto 

Fleming  H.   Revell  Company 

LONUON      AND      El)INni-'I<t;H 


\ 


Copyright,  IQ05-1004,  by 
FRANK  T.   BULLEN 


Copyriglit,    hk).),  b) 
FLEMING  H.  REVELL  COMPANY 


New    York:    is8    Fifth    Avenue 

Chicago:  63  Washington  Street 
Toronto:  27  Richmond  Street,  W 
London:  21  Paternoster  Square 
Edinburgh:    30  St.    Mary  Street 


CONTENTS 


i 
[ 

I. 

Introduction 

4 

n. 

The  Autobiography  of  a  Sperm  Whale 

13 

III. 

The  Mysticetus,  or  Right  Whale 

39 

IV. 

The  Humpback.  Whale  .         .         .         . 

51 

V. 

The  Rorquals         .... 

59 

VI. 

SiRENIA    

73 

VII. 

The  Walrus,  Morse,  or  Sea-Horse 

77 

VIII. 

The  Sea  Elephant          .         .         .         . 

83 

IX. 

Seals        ....... 

90 

X. 

The  Shark 

97 

XI. 

The  Turtle    ..... 

114 

XII. 

The  Cuttle-Fish  or  Squid 

127 

XIII. 

Deep-Sea  Chim.«ras 

146 

XIV. 

Sea-Serpents 

.     165 

XV. 

The  Albacore         .... 

.     182 

XVI. 

The  Bonito 

.     204 

XVII. 

The  Flying-Fisk     .... 

.     221 

1    XVIII. 

The  Dolphin          .... 

.     238 

1    XIX. 

The  Mackerel        .... 

.     256 

Contents 

XX. 

Cod 

.     274 

XXI. 

The  Herring       .         .         .         . 

.     291 

XXIi. 

The  Barracouta 

THE  BIRDS  OF  THE  SEA 

•     310 

XXIII. 

The  Albatross     .         .         .         . 

•     331 

XXIV. 

Cape  Pigeons  and  Whale  Birds  . 

•     350 

XXV. 

The  Petrels 

,     368 

XXVI. 

Boobies  and  Penguins  . 

.     386 

XXVII. 

The  Frigate  Bird 

.     404 

XXVIIl. 

Seaweed        .... 

.    417 

Index  

•    423 

274 

291 

310 

LIST   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS 

331 

FACING    PAGE 

„                     ^T.T»     T?Dr>4n     RlI.C.E 

350 
368 
386 

404 

417 
423 


4 


o       '>  .         .  Title 

01-  THE  Ship  •         •         •         • 

"Rose    Perpendicularly    with    Some    Palely 

Glowing  Mass  Between  His  Jaws" 
"Deeper    than    I     Had     Ever    Dreamed    op, 
Skirting   the   Black  Bases   of   a   Mighty 
Mountain  Range"        .         •         •         '     ,    * 
"He  Writhed  Round  and  Enwrapped  Me      . 
"A  Strange  White  Monster"     .         •         •         • 
"The  Ocean   Boiled  with  Our  Efforts" 
"Of    All   Land   Walking   Animals    None    can 
Compete    with    the   W\^lrus    for   Clumsi- 


18 


23 

24 
28 

36 


NESS  .••••* 

"We    Were    Suddenly    Startled    Stiff    by    a 
Most  Tremendous  Roaring  as  of  a  Troop 

OF  Lions"  .•••••' 
"As    Each    One   Reaches    the   Rocks    She   is 

Pounced    upon    by    a    Roaring,    Frenzied 

Mob  OF  Males" 

"There   Are   More   Varieties   of   the   Shark 

Family  than  of  any  Other  Fish   Family 

A  Pair  of  Turtles  Lay  Basking  in  the  Blaz- 
ing Sunshine         ..•••• 

"All  the  Hungry  Sea  People  Make  Respect- 
ful Way  for  Her" 


78 

86 

92 

106 
114 

118 


List   of  Illustrations 


130 

150 


PACING    1  \GK 

"OCTOPODIA      ARE      TrT'K      SCAVENGERS,      EaTING 

Anything  Eatablk  Which  Comes  in  Their 

Way" 

Where  Nature  IIa-^  Outdone  Herself  in  the 
Fasiiigninc   .>,■  Strange  M(jnsters 

The    pEMALEr,    .jhTTI-ED    Do\VN    UPON    THE    S.MOOTH 

Patchi;s  OF  Sandy  Sea-Floor     .         .         .     202 

I  Have  Seen  the  Sea-Surface  Suddenly 
Broken  into  Foam  by  Myriads  of  Flying 
Fish 234 

Sometimes   He   is  Taken  Off   His   Guard   and 

Falls  a  Prey  to  a  Shark  .         .         .252 

Garfish  and  Horse  Mackerel  Swimming  Se- 
dately IN   Front  of  the  School         .         .     260 

The  Pollock  is  More  Elegant  in  Shape  than 

THE  Chief  of  His  Tribe      ....     289 

"Looking  Down  into  the  Li.mpid  Depths,  I 
Saw  Several  Barracouta  Stealing 
Along"  .......     320 

The  Water  Greeted  Me  with  a  Roar  and  a 
Dash  that  Flung  Me  Gasping  Back  upon 
THE  S\nd       .......     342 

A  Bos'uM  Has  Often  Kept  Me  Pleasant  Com- 
pany        356 

I  Always  Shared  Any  Delicious  Morsel  with 

Her 382 

The  Penguins  Gazed  at  Him  from  the  Rocky 

Ledges 398 


13° 


Denizens   of  the   Deep 


234 


320 

342 
356 
382 

398 


CHAPTER  I 
INTRODUCTION 

THERE  has  of  recent  years  grown  up  a  very 
pleasant  practice  with  certain  writers,  notably 
the  lamented  Richard  Jefferies,  the  inimitable 
Kipling,  and  Ernest  Thompson  Seton,  not  to  go  further 
in  cataloguing  names,  of  supolenienting  the  standard 
works  on  Natural  History  with  intimate  personal  details 
of  the  every-day  lives  of  wild  animals  from  the  highest  to 
the  lowest,  not  excluding  insects.  I  said  pleasant  practice, 
but  would  add  profitable  to  the  reader  of  whatever  age, 
for  I  think  no  one  except  some  dry-as-dust,  blear-eyed 
professor,  groping  amid  the  dry  bones  of  his  museum  all 
liis  life,  would  fail  to  agree  that  a  story  like  Kipling's 
IV/nfe  Seal,  for  instance,  must  convey  to  the  average 
reader,  whether  young  or  old,  more  retainable  knowledge 
of  the  creatures  it  treats  of  than  a  whole  weighty  volume 
of  dry  facts  mostly  in  dead  languages,  even  supposing  it 
was  read.  Of  cour^-,  the  desideratum  is  that  the  infor- 
mation presented  in  this  narrative  form  shall  be  correct, 
that  where  the  imagination  is  called  in  to  supply  the 
absence  of  exact  data  it  shall  not  be  allowed  to  commit 
indefensible  extravagances,  and  that  the  stories  as  a  whole 

9 


lO 


Denizens  of  the  Deep 


shall,  if  not  stamped  with  the  same  hall-mark  of  genius 
as  the  White  Seal,  at  least  endeavour  to  be  as  readable  in 
their  degree. 

With  this  object  before  my  eyes,  I  now  '  ^say  a  series 
of  lives  of  some  Denizens  of  the  Deep  based  very  largely 
upon  personal  observation,  buttressed  by  scientific  facts 
and  decorated  by  imagination.      I  well  know  how  am- 
bitious the  task  is,  but  I   feel  that  I  have  some  small 
qualifications  for  the  work,  and  I  know  too  how  much 
room  there  is  for  a  book  of  the  kind.     A  minor  difficulty 
confronts   me   at   the   outset.     In  justice   the   place  of 
honour  at  the  commencement  should — I  felt,  must — be 
given   to   the    undoubted    Monarch    of    the    Deep,   the 
stupendous  Whale.     But   I   have  written   so   much,  so 
exhaustively  about  him  (as  a  ship  is  "  she  "  to  sailors,  so 
a  whale  is  "  he"  to  whalers),  that  it  must  be  impossible 
to  avoid  some  repetition  (for  which  I  trust  I  shall  be  for- 
given) of  what  I  have  published  before.     And  it  would 
naturally  appear  as  if  I  had  deliberately  chosen  to  place 
the  Whales  first  because  of  my  personal  predilection  for 
their  gigantic  company,  and  more  extended  acquaintance 
with  them  as  regards  their  every-day  life.     But  that  is 
not  so.     I  would  gladly  put  a  much  smaller  denizen  of 
the  deep  sea  forward  first  if  I  might  with  propriety  do  so. 
However,  I  feel  that  to  be  out  of  the  question,  so  the 
Whale  comes  first. 

Again,  I  beg  to  observe  that  this  series  of  life-histories 
will  possess  no  orderly  sequence  of  species  or  genera.  I 
intend  to  keep  mammals,  fish,  and  birds,  each  in  a  section 
of  their  own,  but  apart  from  that,  I  wish  to  keep  the 
work  as  unlike  an  orthodox  natural  history  as  it  is 
possible  to  make  it.  Of  necessity,  these  will  be  selected 
lives,  since  there  are  so  many  species  of  deep-sea  folk  of 


Introduction 


II 


which  man,  by  reason  of  his  hmitations,  can  know  prac- 
tically nothing.  But  I  do  hope  to  include  all  the  fauna 
of  the  sea  likely  to  make  interesting  and  popular  studies 

no,  not  studies.     I  want  to  dissociate  the  idea  of  study 

from  the  book  altogether.  If  it  smells  of  the  lamp  I 
shall  be  greatly  disappointed,  and  so  will  my  readers.  It 
should  read  like  a  series  of  intimate  biographies  of  tried 
and  trusted  friends,  whose  lives,  though  passed  on  a 
different  plane  from  ours,  are  no  less  full  of  interest. 

A  high  and  solid  wall  of  division  separates  us  from  the 
full  fellowship  with  the  lower  animals  which  many  of  us 
feel  wculd  add  a  new  zest  to  life.  Now  and  then  it  gets 
low  and  thin,  as  in  the  case  of  the  dog,  the  horse,  the 
elephant,  the  cat ;  but  even  with  these  domestic  friends 
there  always  meets  us  the  baffling  barrier,  preventing  the 
contact  of  our  minds  with  what  fills  the  same  function  in 
the  animal.  And  if  this  is  so  in  regard  to  those  closely 
associated  creatures,  how  much  more  is  it  in  regard  to 
the  wild  ones,  and  how  immeasurably  greater  in  the  case 
of  those  interesting  beings  of  whom  we  only  catch  fleec- 
ing glimpses  as  it  were.  Here  imagination  aided  by 
experience  is  the  only  interpreter.  It  may  mistranslate, 
it  may  fail  to  understand  many  things  at  all,  but  on  the 
other  hand  it  may — it  has,  it  often  does — hit  upon  the 
exact  truth  as  to  the  inner  lives  of  its  subjects,  at  any  rate, 
in  far  greater  measure  than  any  statistical  compilation 
can  ever  do. 

To  conclude  this  brief  introduction,  let  me  say  that  in 
some  cases  I  feel  it  will  be  preferable  to  make  the  sketch 
an  apparent  autobiography  as  it  were — to  let  the  creature 
written  about  tell  his  own  story  in  our  language,  but  from 
his  point  of  view.  This,  I  feel,  would  hardly  be  appro- 
priate to  all  the  life-histories  of  the  sea-folk,  but  in  some 


12 


Denizens  of  the  Deep 


fe 


■^■\ 


^'v 


cases  it  will  be  peculiarly  so.  Notably  among  the  mam- 
malia and  other  amphibia.  And  now  I  feel  that  it  would 
be  injudicious  on  my  part,  as  well  as  somewhat  priggish, 
to  spend  more  time  in  saying  what  I  intend  to  do.  Far 
better  go  ahead  and  do  it 


CHAPTER   II 

THE  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF   A  SPERM 
WHALE 


i 


MY  earliest  recollections  are  rather  hazy,  but 
principally  centre  themselves  around  pleasant 
sensations.  I  was  born,  as  nearly  as  I  can 
remember,  at  high  noon  in  the  Indian  Ocean  near 
the  Equator.  You  must  excuse  me  from  being  more 
exact,  for  while  we  whales  know  the  oceans  down 
to  a  depth  of  five  hundred  fathoms  from  North  to 
South  within  the  frigid  zones,  and  all  the  watery 
world  around,  we  do  not  pretend  to  the  scrupulous 
accuracy  with  regard  to  exact  position  that  humans 
do.  Why  should  we  ?  We  always  know  where  we 
are,  we  never  miss  one  another,  and  although  we 
keep  no  log-books  we  never  forget  anything  that 
we  ought  to  remember. 

So  to  come  back  to  my  birthplace,  it  was,  as  I  have 
said,  in  the  Indian  Ocean  near  the  Line,  and  my  first 
feeling  was,  '  How  pleasant  everything  is  ! '  The  sea 
was  like  warm  milk,  the  softest,  most  delicious  cradle 
that  ever  babe  was  rocked  in.  Overhead  the  glorious 
sun  like  a  globe  of  molten  fire  that  was  bursting  its 
bounds  on  every  part  of  its  rim,  poured  down  a  flood  of 
life-giving  heat.  Not  a  cloud  in  the  stainless  blue, 
not  a  fleck  of  foam  on  the  peaceful  waters,  only  great 


14   Autobiography  of  a  Sperm  Whale 

glowing  breadths  of  colour  ever  rhanging  in  obedience 
to  some  mysterious  law.  I  lay,  happiest  of  the  happy, 
by  my  mother's  side,  my  blunt  nose  protruding  from 
the  water  about  a  foot,  the  teat  in  the  angle  of  my  jaw, 
in  wiurh  the  immature  teeth  were  just  sprouting,  and 
tlie  rich  milk  streaming  sweetly  down  my  throat  quite 
unmixed  with  any  sea-water.  You  see,  we  have  a 
most  exquisite  contrivance  in  our  gullets,  which  without 
any  effort  on  our  parts,  takes  in  the  food  and  sl.uts  out 
the  sea,  even  at  enormous  depths.  But  just  how  it 
does  it  I  cannot  explain,  nor  do  I  think  that  anybody 
can.  I  looked  a  queer  little  creature,  with  my  head, 
the  biggest  part  of  me,  like  a  tadpole's,  and  my  long 
thin  lower  jaw  sticking  out  in  front  of  me  almost  as  if 
a  big  splinter  had  run  into  my  face  and  remained  there. 
But  my  mother  did  not  think  so;  she  was  very  proud 
of  me,  and  we  both  lay  upon  our  beautiful  couch, 
supremely  happy. 

All  around  us  lay  the  rest  of  the  school,  thirty  or 
forty  cows,  eight  or  ten  young  bulls,  and  father.  Ah, 
never  shall  I  forget  when  I  saw  him  first.  He  was 
going  round  the  family  to  see  that  all  was  well,  as  he 
did  some  six  times  a  day,  and  he  passed  quite  close  to 
where  I  nestled  at  my  mother's  side.  He  was  one  of 
the  mightiest  of  our  mighty  race,  with  a  head  like  a 
promontory  and  a  length  of  over  seventy  feet.  And 
as  he  surged  slowly  up  behind  me  on  the  surface  of  the 
quiet  sea,  I  saw  the  whole  of  him  clearly  and  trembled. 
(You  must  understand  that  we  can  only  see  behind  us 
owing  to  the  position  of  our  eyes,  which  are  placed  a 
little  below  where  the  shoulders  are  in  a  man  and  almost 
m  the  middle  of  the  body's  breadth.)  He  just  glanced 
at  me  as  he  glided  by,  a  glance  as  it  seemed  to  me  of 
perfect  satisfaction.  My  mother  quivered  with  delight, 
as,  sheering  in  towards  her,  he  touched  his  forehead  to 


Pleasant  Days  at   Home         15 

hers,  graciously,  as  became  a  monarrh  towards  his 
adoring  consort,  witli  whom  he  was  well  pleased. 

For  many  days  we  remained  in  this  mid-ocean 
solitude,  chosen  by  our  wise  ruler  as  being  where  none 
of  the  hateful  monsters  of  man's  making  ever  came, 
a  place  not  too  far  from  rich  plateaux  not  too  deep, 
whose  intricacies  swarmed  with  our  propi  r  food,  where 
the  sea-streams  ran  warmly  and  the  sun  rose  and  set 
continually  with  never  a  cloud,  a  place  where  we  alone 
of  all  the  sea-folk  had  no  fo(^s  to  fear.  This  proud 
pre-eminence  above  all  our  fellows  had  not  long  been 
ours.  In  our  hasteless  chronology  it  seemed  but  a 
short  time  past  since  in  every  part  of  the  sea  we  were 
liable  to  pursuit,  harassing  wounds,  and  death  at  the 
hands  of  men.  Alone  among  the  tribes  of  earth  and  air 
and  sea  we  feared  them,  for  we  knew  by  bitter  experi- 
ence that  our  utmost  rage,  strength,  and  courage 
availed  nothing  against  these  feeble  ones,  who  neverthe- 
less were  so  wise  that  they  were  bound  to  overcome 
us.  True,  we  did  them  terrible  damage  on  occasions, 
and  some  of  our  warriors,  notably  the  head  of  my  family, 
had  invariably  come  out  of  conflicts  with  the  earth- 
people  without  deadly  injury,  although  bearing  all 
over  their  vast  body-surfaces  wide  white  scars  where 
the  cruel  wounds  dealt  them  by  men  had  healed.  And 
each  of  them  had  a  long  roll  of  victories  to  his  credit. 
Yet  this  did  not  make  then,  tyrannous  or  over-bearing, 
it  but  added  to  their  wisdom,  and  ability  to  command 
the  younger  generations. 

Now  I  am  not  so  arrogant  as  to  suggest  that  all 
this  knowledge  was  mine  as  soon  as  I  was  born,  I  do 
but  tell  you  these  things  as  a  sort  of  introduction  to 
my  family,  of  which  I  am  miglitily  proud,  yet  not  more 
so  I  think  than  they  deserve.  No,  like  all  young 
creatures,  for  the  early  days  of  my  life  I  was  content 


1 6  Autobiography  of  a  Sperm  Whale 

to  be  alive  and  full  of  joy.     Everything  was  new, 
everything  was  entirely  delightful.     I  was  very  soon 
weaned,   for  among  our  people,   the  Sperm   Whales, 
there  does  not  exist  that  intensity  of  maternal  affection 
which  characterises  the  other  kinds  of  whale,  with  only 
one  exception.     We  really  do  not  need  it,  for  food  is 
ea-=y  to  obtain,  and  of  a  nature  entirely  fitted  for  a  mere 
baby  to  eat.     So  that  when  I  was  less  than  a  month  old 
I  had  taken  my  place  in  the  school  as  one  of  its  ordinary 
members,  and  my  early  relations  with  my  mother  were 
entirely  forgotten— in  fact  I  knew  no  difference  between 
her  and  any  other  member  of  the  school  or  family.    But 
during  all  that  period  I  had  been  learning  by  closest 
imitation,  as  well  as  by  yielding  to  my  strange  inward 
promptings  impelling  me  to  do  that  which  I  had  never 
done  before,  in  emulation  of  the  feats  I  saw  being 
performed  by  those  around  me,  and  when  I  became 
independent   I    was,   altliough   quite   an    insignificant 
member  of  the  school,  fully  capable  of  doing  all  that 
they  did  in  respect  of  swimming,  diving  and  obtaining 

lam  now  getting  old,  the  waves  and  storms  of  half 
a  century  have  rolled  and  thundered  over  my  head, 
but  vividly  as  on  that  first  day  do  I  remember  when  by 
my  mother's  side  closely  following  her  every  movement 
I  sank  into  the  cool,  translucent,  and  darkling  depths 
for  the  first  time.     I  shrank  closely  in  to  my  mother's 
bosom  as  we  left  the  warm  sunshine  in  which  we  had 
been  basking.     I  noticed  with  youthful  wonder  and 
admiration  the  stately  graceful  way  in  which  my  mother 
arched  her  back,  lowered  her  head  and  elevated  the 
broad  fans  of  her  tail  into  the  air  as  she  descended,  and 
then  all  else  was  swallowed  up  in  admiration.     Slowly 
we  sank  through  the  increasing  coolness  of  the  sea, 
dimmer  and  dimmer  grew  the  light  from  above,  untU, 


I  Earn  Experience 


17 


i 


after  what  seemed  a  flav,  but  could  only  have  Won  a 
few  minutes,  we  stojiped  our  descent  and  began  to 
move  horizontally. 

At  first  I  was  dreadfully  distressed.     I  felt  as  if  I 
was  being  squeezed  t1at,  I  wanted  to  breathe,  but   I 
found  that  my  nostril  was  as  securely  scaled  as  if  it 
was  never  to  be  opened  again,  certainly  I  could  not 
open  it.     Mv  lower  jaw  hung  down,  leaving  my  mouth 
wide  open,  and  presently  a  delicious  quivering  morsel 
went  gliding  down  my  throat,  giving  me  a  most  ex- 
quisite feeling  of  satisfaction.     The  gloom  which  had  so 
troubled  me  at  hist  gave  way  to  a  tender,  greenish  light 
shed  abroad  by  myriads  of  shining  things  that  glowed 
and  faded  as  they  floated  about  apparently  without  any 
will  of  their  awn.     The  cold,  too,  which  at  first  had  felt 
unbearable,  chilling  my  blood  and  making  it  feel  as  if 
it   was  tliickcning  so   much   that   it  could  not   flow, 
became  less  unpleasant.     And  presently,  tiny  as  I  was, 
I  realised  that  this  was  my  proper  realm,  that  here 
our  people  were  supreme,  and  that  of  all  the  myriads 
of  diverse  creatures  in  the  sea  we  were  the  undoubted 
heads  and  leaders.     All  other  sea-citizens  but  ourselves 
preyed  upon  and  were  preyed  upon  by  other  denizens  of 
the  deep,  we  alone  took  toll  where  we  would,  ourselves 
secure  fr(.'m  all  assault  by  any  of  the  sea-folk.     It  was  a 
high   and  elevating   thought   to  feel  oneself  a  lineal 
descendant  of  such  a  mighty  and  ancient  line  of  ocean 
royalty. 

All  around  me  glided  in  utter  silence  amid  the 
varying  gleams,  like  vast  shadows,  the  members  of 
the  school.  Occasionally  in  hasteless.  dignified  fashion 
one  would  rise  perpendicularly  with  some  palely 
glowing  mass  between  his  jaws,  and  reversing  his 
pu.-,ilioa,  let  the  gr 'at  saw  of  his  lower  mandible 
divide  whatever  it  was  he  held  into  sizeable  fragments 


1 8  Autobiography  of  a  Sperm  Whale 

for  swallowing.    These  pieces  were  upon   the  same 
colossal  sc'^i'^  -^s  himself,  and  slipped  down  his  gullet 
with  an  easv  celerity  that  was  pleasant  to  see.     No 
one  was  selhsh.    The  prey  of  one  was  the  prey  of  all. 
and   a   certain   gigantic   courtesy   F^^^^^^ed   any   in- 
dividual  from    appropriating    more    than    his  ^^^ual 
share      But  suddenly  into  the  midst  of  these  mys- 
terious   delights    there    thrust    itself    an    imperative 
command  to  seek  air.     We  can  and  do  remain  in  the 
dcDtlis  for  as  much  as  one  hour,  according  to  our  size, 
but  the  length  of  time  we  stay  down  is  always  care- 
fully calculated  according  to  the  need  of  the  youngest 
member  of  the  party.     Ah!    the  swift  rush  upward, 
impelled  seemingly  by  the  whole  weight  of  the  ocean 
beneath      Ah  !    the  blissful  emergence  into  brightness 
most  dazzling,  and  the  simultaneous  openmg  of  all 
sniracles      Oh  !   the  sweet  rush  of  heaven  s  air  through 
the  quivering  nostrils  into  the  labouring  lungs.    Indeed, 
it  is  good  to  endure  pnvation  of  air  for  a  season  if  only 
to  realise  how   lavish  of   His  choicest   gifts  is    the 
Power  that  sways  us  all. 

Then  to  lie  basking  again,  feeling  that  sweet  breath, 
the  true  essence  of  life,  coursing  through  every  artery, 
tingling  in  every  muscle,  making  one  feel  as  if  nothing 
buf    action,    swift,    tremendous,    exhausting     could 
satisfy  the  exuberant  needs  of  the  body.     Oh  !    th 
d.light  of  just  being  alive.     Is  it  any  wonder  that 
even  our  majestic  chief,  yielding  to  the  overmastering 
needs  of  such  an  influx  of  lif.,  suddenly  forgot  his 
dignity,  rushed  like  a  tidal  wave  along  the  glowing 
surface  of  the  ocean,  and  hurled  his  whole  vast  bulk 
towards  the  sky  by   the  exercise  of  a  force  beyond 
calculation.     After    that    one    stupendous    exhibition 
of  power  all  lay  in  almost  utter  quiet,  content  so  to  he 
The  sun  went  down,  the  moon  ruse  up  and  the  pleasant 


rl 


i;<isi;  rKiM'KM'ic"  i.AUi.v  wnii  somk  pai.i 
im;  mass  I!i;i'\vi:i:.\  his  .iaws." 


;i,v  <;i.(»\v 


Exuberant  Youth 


19 


Stars  peeped  out  from  the  purple  curtain  of  the  ni-lit. 
No  ripple  of  wave  or  ([ultuIous  wail  of  wind  disturbed 
tiic  mid-sea  quiet.  Even  the  deep  sigli  of  a  walking 
whale  but  punctuated  the  soft  stillness  of  the  restful 
scene.  All  Nature  was  at  ease  around  us,  and  above 
as  below  there  was  perfect  peace. 

The   foregoing   was   just   a   tvpical   evening   as   I 
remember  it    hiring  my  babyhood.     But  one  morning 
tliere   was  communicated   to  all    the   family  by   that 
subtle  interchange  of  thought,  indejiendenrof  speech, 
which  we  possess,  the  chiefs  order  to  proceed  north- 
ward,  following  him.     No  one  so  much   as   thought 
of  questioning  his  autliority.     He  was  our  law  and 
Its    only    exponent.     As    well    have    questioned    our 
ability  to  obey  as  his  right  to  command.     So  as  the 
great  sun  flooded  the  horizon  with  golden  flame  as  if 
ovcrliowing,  we  formed  into  ranks  and  at  a  uniform 
speed  of  about  six  miles  an  hour,  departed  from  that 
spot  of  ocean  where  I  lirst  knew  life.     I  had  no  senti- 
"U'utal   regrets,   the   whole   wide   sea   was   my  home. 
Nay,  more  ;    I  felt  an  absorbing  desire  to  know  more 
of  this  apparently  illimitable  realm  of  waters  which 
li '.<!  given  me  a  place  of  birth  in  one  of  its  tiniest  eddies. 
^')  I  gambofled  gaily  along  in  the  wake  of  the  young 
i^'lls    of   the   school,    restraining   with   difficulty   my 
de^-ire   to   leap   after   the   manner   of   the   chief,   and 
•v\.Ihng  in  the  cool  depths  to  which  we  periodically 
'l''-.cnded  in  search  of  food.     When  I  come  to  think 
of   It    with    the   calmness   that    belies   m.y  age,    I    feel 
"npelled  to  assert  that  in  those  davs  f  had  but  two 
ox.  rmastering  desires,  the  desire  to  eat,  and  the  desire 
to  dissipate   the  abundant   strength   that   my  eating 
.^' i\e  me.     But  withal,  I  knew  how  to  obey,  or  rather 
-ii  ill  I  say,  I  knew  not  how  to  disobev  the  guidance 
^'1  "'y  leader.     Like  all  yonng  things  I  felt  independent 


-n 

n 


20  Autobiography  of  a  Sperm  Whale 

promptings  to  strike  out  a  way  ot  my  own,  but  one 
glance  at  him  quenched  all  such  aspirations  and  made 
me  feel  how  good  it  was  to  be  permitted  to  follow  so 
great  a  guide. 

Very  pleasantly  passed  a  space  of  six  days  and 
tlien  a  whole  wide  area  of  new  pleasures  met  my 
(Iclighted  senses.  Whither  we  were  bound  I  did  not 
know,  but  now  I  can  tell  you  that  we  made  the  Bab-el- 
Mandeb,  no  gate  of  tears  to  me,  but  a  veritable  portal 
of  joy.  During  that  short  passage,  so  rich  in  life  are 
the  tepid  Indian  Seas,  even  my  small  body  had  become 
quite  encrusted  with  parasitical  growths,  barnacles 
and  moss  and  tiny  limpets.  They  worried  my  tender 
skin,  they  fretted  me  beyond  bearing,  and  so,  when 
I  saw  the  jagged  surfaces  of  coral  at  tlie  gate  of  the 
Red  Sea,  I  rushed  as  did  my  fellows,  to  chafe  my 
irritated  body  along  those  gratefully  corrugated 
summits  of  the  edifices  below.  Ah  !  "another  joy  ; 
to  drag  onesi  xuriously  over  those  myriad  needle- 
points of  cor.  ,  e..Ty  touch  sending  a  thrill  of  delight 
from  fluke-edge  to  spiracle— yes,  indeed,  it  was  worth 
all  the  miserable  days  of  annoyance  preceding  it  to 
know  the  sweetness  of  the  relief. 

And  then  the  food.  Here  was  found  in  fullest 
abundance  all  that  the  sea  had  to  offer  us.  Massy 
shoals  of  lazy  hsh  that,  needing  no  inducement,  just 
swam  serenely  down  the  gaping  caverns  of  our  jaws, 
cuttles  of  medium  size  but  soft  and  sapid,  that  without 
any  attempt  at  resistance  allowed  themselves  to  drift 
gelatinously  into  the  warm  haven  of  our  stomachs. 
Ah  !  the  Red  Sea  is  a  good  place.  Yet  one  serious 
drawback  we  all  found.  By  reason  of  our  bulk  (I  may 
say  'our  '  now  I  have  attained  perhaps  the  maximum 
size  allotted  to  the  Sperm  Whale)  we  were  often  com- 
pelled to  give  the  shallow  shores  a  wide  berth.     But 


Happy  Days 


21 


in  the  mid-sea  there  was  no  peace.  From  the  incessant 
churning  up  and  befoulipf,'  of  the  water  there  was  no 
escape.  Methinks  that  all  the  land-driven  monsters 
using  the  sea  as  their  highway  did  concentrate  there. 
And  when  I  saw  one  of  them  strike  the  black  scarp  of 
Jebel  Zukur  and  fall  apart  in  shards  I  was  gravely 
content.  Why  should  all  the  sea  be  given  up  to  the 
business  or  pleasure  of  those  who  rule  all  the  land  ? 
thought  I,  nor  did  I  give  one  jot  of  mental  effort  to 
the  problem  of  why  it  was  that  we,  the  sced-rcyal  of 
the  sea,  were  now  no  longer  hunted  by  men.  Like 
most  of  my  fellows,  I  was  all-content  to  take  the  good 
as  it  came,  never  to  anticipate  evil  unless  compelled 
by  instinctive  prescience,  but  to  live  and  enjoy  the 
passing  day,  taking  no  thought  for  what  might  be 
coming. 

Here  in  this  pleasant  sea  we  remained  for  many 
months.     Nought  of  harm,  of  annoyance  came  near 
us  so  long  as  we  kept  to  east  or  west  of  a  well-defmed 
line  dr  i\'  n  down  the  middle  of  the  sea.     We  lay  and 
luxuriated  in  the  rich  sea-pastures  within  the  sheltering 
reef-barriers,  fearing  nothing  and  fattening  upon  the 
never-failing  stores  of  rich  food  around  us.     We  had 
but  to  lie  still,  open  wide  our  mouths  and  let  them  fill. 
What  wonder  that  we  all  grew  fat  and  slothful,  all, 
that  is,  who  had  attained  their  full  growth.     The  other 
youngsters  and  myself  grew  amazingly,  for  not  only 
did  we  eat  all  that  we  felt  inclined  to,  but  like  all  young 
th.'ngs,  rejoicing  in  our  perfect  life  and  full  freedom, 
we  gambolled,  we  raced,  and  did  all  that  the  abundant 
vitality  within  us  prompted  us  to  do,  and  there  were 
none  to  say  us  nay.     And  so  the  he.ppy  days  passed, 
none  taking  count  of  them,  all  too  inient  upon  enjoy- 
ment of  the  present  to  think  of  tl^-  future,  until  one 
morning  our  great  chief  gave   the  gathering  signal. 


-  •/) 

...tt 
> 

mi 
1 


22   Autobiography  of  a  Sperm  Whale 

and  was  instantly  oliovcd.  For  with  us  there  is  no 
half-hi'artcd  or  unwill  n.;  obvuhcnce.  We  choose  our 
chiefs  f(>r  their  nihng  qualities,  and  having  chosen 
tlu'in  it  ne\-er  occurs  to  us  to  di-obey  tliem  or  grumble 
at  tlioir  orders.  We  l^now  that  they  are  ht  to  rule  us, 
and  we  deliglit  to  obev.  And  wlien  thev  are,  by  reason 
of  advancing  age  or  sickness  or  any  infuniitv,  unfit  to 
maintain  their  jiroud  ]iii-hion  any  lop.grr,  we  depose 
them  unhi^itatinglv.  We  kn^w  we  must  be  led,  must 
have  a  cliief.  but  we  Icr.mv  that  he  must  be  bv>i  of  the 
verv  best.  Nor  can  he  lioKl  his  position  one  day  after 
he  lias  fallen  from  our  liiuli  standard. 

In    a   close    compact    bodv,    we   left    the   pleasant 
purlii'us  of  the  Red  Sea,  and  without  deviating  from 
our  direct  course,  excejit  to  ch-.ir  Sokotra,  we  made 
our  wav  southward.     N<i\v  I  began  to  frel  the  benefit 
of  our  long  stav  in  the  abundant  waters  we  had  just 
quitted.      Heeause  liere  there  was  almost  nothing  for 
us  to  (>at.     True,  as  we  p.e-ed  throngh  the  blue  depths 
in  statelv  ranks  an  oee:i>:(iiial  shnal  (->f  !i.->li  would  swim 
down  our  gaping  throats,  or  a  passing  school  of  por- 
poises hnd  permanent  sheller  in  the  vast  maws  of  our 
elders.     Ihit    these    were    incidental    only.     Nothing 
like   the   rich  baiKpieting  day  after  day,   which   had 
been  our  lot  in  the  teeming  sea   behind   us.     But    if 
we   could  feast  when  oc    ision  offered,  we  could   also 
fast  when  need  arose.      And  need    was  laid   upon  us 
now.      None    but    our    chief    knew  whither  we  went, 
yet    we    followed    him    uiif.Jleringly    through    those 
almost    barren    seas  ;    barren,   that  is,  so  far  as  we 
were  concerned. 

Without  haste,  yet  resting  not  dnv  nor  night,  we 
pursued  our  journey  southward  througli  the  mighty 
silenres  of  the  sea.  Once,  and  only  once,  did  we  see 
anytiiing  to  give  us  pause,  and  that  was,  as  the  water 


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i.l  I'l  !;    I  M  \-     i    II  \!.  i;\  n;   i  ii;i:  wir.l  >  'M"    skmmini; 
'MM      i:|.  \i    K    |;  \^!>   (  •!      \     Mji.ll  !  \     \|i  i|    \  I  A  I  \ 

i;ani;i;  ■• 


I   Meet   Man 


23 


bi^|::;an  to  rliill,  when  we  met  one  of  those  mighty  fabrics 
made  by  men  and  driven  by  fire  across  the  ocean.  We 
had  been  so  long  immune  from  pursuit,  or  indeed 
interference  of  any  kind,  that  we  took  httle  heed  of 
her  except  just  to  avoid  her  great  onward  rush,  and 
the  deadly  swirl  of  her  tail.  Full  of  curiosity  to  see 
what  this  wonderful  surface-monster  might  be,  I  rose 
beliind  it,  and  putting  forth  all  my  vigour  swam  after 
it  to  get  a  good  view  of  it,  when  suddenly  I  heard  a 
curious  noise  almost  like  the  sound  we  make  on  a  calm 
day  when,  lying  upon  the  surface,  we  strike  the  water 
with  our  tails,  and  immediately  I  felt  a  burning, 
stinging  pain  run  through  me.  I  swerved  in  my 
course,  and  sought  my  companions,  all  of  whom  as 
1  joined  them  put  on  their  utmost  speed  in  our  original 
direction.  For  a  time  it  seemed  as  if  they  avoided 
me,  but,  gradually,  as  the  healing  of  the  sea  exercised 
its  benignant  effect  upon  the  place  in  my  side  where 
I  felt  the  pain,  they  closed  in  upon  me  again  and  I  was 
no  longer  shunned. 

Later,  as  we  slowed  down,  our  great  chief  deigned 
to  halt  near  me  and  tell  me  what  had  really  happened. 
He  said  that  idle  men  and  women  (how  I  wondered 
what  they  were  !)  on  board  of  these  land-monsters 
or  ships,  possessing  deadly  things  able  to  kill  a  long 
way  off,  did  not  hesitate  to  try  and  deprive  of  life,  just 
for  amusement,  any  of  the  sea-folk  they  saw.  At  which 
I  wondered  very  much  ;  for  the  earliest  knowledge  I 
absorbed  was,  never  to  kill  but  for  food,  and  the  news 
that  there  were  creatures  who  killed  for  amusement — 
for  pleasure — was  very  terrible  to  me. 

However,  although  the  ni?mory  of  that  encounter 
has  nc  -er  left  me,  my  wound  healed  so  rapidly  that  I 
n.  ;er  once  faltered  in  our  southward  rush,  feeling 
stronger  and  more  fit  every  day,  as  the  good  sea  gave 


24  Autobiography  of  a  Sperm  Whale 

me  of  it?  strrngth,  and  the  Inni;  fca-ting  in  the  Rod  ?oa 
came  to  its  predestined  and  proper  effect.  'I  he  waters 
around  me  cooled  and  brought  hunger— fierce,  gnawing 
hunger.  Yet  there  was  httle  or  nothing  to  eat.  Our 
speed  increased  ;  without  faltering  or  straggling  we 
held  steadily  on,  until  one  day,  following  our  chief, 
we  settled  down,  down,  down.  Deeper  than  ever  I 
had  dre;;med  of  we  went  until,  skirting  the  black  bases 
of  a  miglity  mountain  range,  we  found  our  prey. 
Hundreds  upon  hundreds  of  enormous  cuttle-fish, 
helplessly,  slimily  crawling  about  on  the  rocky  floor 
or  clinging  witii  their  myriad  tentacles  to  the  pillars 
of  the  earth,  as  with  their  huge  eyes  they  saw  us  ap- 
proaching. There  was  no  escape  for  them.  Alone 
among  the  inhabitants  of  the  deep  seas,  we  were  their 
masters  and  they  our  legitimate  prey. 

We  fell  upon  them  in  a  body,  and  tore  them  limb 
from  limb,  feeling  exquisite  satisfaction  as  the  quivering 
succulent    morsels    glided    down    into    our    craving 
stomachs.    I  bad  devoured  one  huge  fellow  whose  head 
had  been  bitten  off  by  a  big  bull  close  to  me,  and  was 
almost  satisfied.     Not  quite,  tliough  ;    and  with  fresh 
ardour  I  flung  myself  into  the  fray,  seizing  a  vast  cuttle 
by  the  middle.     He  writhed  round  and  enwrapped  me 
with  his  far-reaching  arms  so  that  I  could  not  get  my 
mouth  open.     But  my  tail  was  free,  and  exerting  all 
my  strength  I  rose  through  the  murky  water  dragging 
him  with  me.     Fortunately,  he  had  not  liad  time  to 
anchor  himself  to  one  of  the  rock  bases.     We  reached 
the  surface  in  a  welter  of  foam,  and  there  by  my  side 
was  the  chief,  who,  ranging  up  closely,  seized  some 
outlying  tentacles  of  my  p.rize,  causing  him  to  unclasp 
those  that  bound  my  jaw,  and  next  moment  the  strong 
salt  air  of  the  sky  was  sending  thrills  of  renewed  life 
through  my  body. 


1 


> 

'it 

f 


111;  WKi  riiKii  i;ui  M)  .wi'  i;.\\\  i;.\i'ri:h  mi;' 


\ 


Feeling  Power 


M.nv  dans-.c.as  cns.s  luivo  bren  onroun  cred  by 
„,e  sma>  tlan,  but  in  none  of  tlH.m  havo  I  Wt  so  nc.r 

..ndasontl>atOM.as>on.     ^.ul  -J  not  b.vn  for  my 

,.,,,.[.  I  nuist  have  been  drowned.     I    the  cluld  -.the 
a    .p  sea,  born  to  sport  wUh  the  wild  waves  m  tho.r 

„r,o.t  fnrv.  or  sink  far  beneath  them  into  the  darksome 
fundUies  of  ocean  eaverns-I  should  have-  beer^ 
d  cnvned  !  Hut  I  was  not,  and  wh^n  m  he  sweet 
n  oonh.ht  all  our  con.pany  foregathered  on  the  surface 
f  U  fed,  to  lie  m  peace,  hdled  by  the  gentle  rocku  g 
nf  the  wavelets,  I  no  longer  regrett-1  tue  peacehd 
,:,„l  waters  of  the  Red  Sea.  I  had  learned  he 
d 'hghts  of  struggle  and  conquest.     And  I  had  beta 

noti'  ed  by  the  chief !  . 

Th.nceforward    I    grew    with    amazing    rapidity 
I  (,lt  the  gigantic  power  twi.tnig  the  cable-like  sme-u-s 
of  niv  flukes,   knitting   tlie  columnar  masses  of  my 
V.  ,t.h,-;e,  and  pihug  up  the  cushions  of  musele  around 
rav  hones.     A  great  joy  filled  me.     Inceded  an  outlet 
lor  It      To  show  what  I  could  do,  to  hurl  myself  venge- 
f uUv  into  the  closely  packed  mass  of  advaunng  enemies. 
to  had  the  ranks  of  my  fellows.  .      •   Why,  oh  why 
was  all  the  accumulated  wisdom  of  my  thousands  of 
anastors  surging  m  my  brain,  but  to  imp^  me  to 
cn-.t  deeds?     And  here,  fran:.eally.  I  hurled  myself 
out  of  the  sea  thirty  feet  into  the  air   unable  longer  to 
control  the  raging  forces  within.     \Mu-n  I/^U  back 
„Uo  the  foaming  vortex  beneath,  I  ^^^if'^'-'^'^'lll 
still  with  that  sense  of  superiority  over  all  living  things 
surging  within  me.     Perhaps  it  was  the  bracing  effect 
of  That  chill  sea.     For  we  were  now  well  sou  h,  on  the 
outskirts  of  the  beaut.ful  ir^.s  of  New  Zealand    and 
e^ cry  nerve  in  our  bodies  was  strung  tense  with  the 
springing  of  new  life.     Day  broke  and  showed  us  the 
towering  precipices  of  the  South  Inland,  against  which 


H 

1' 


26  Autobiography  of  a  Sperm  Whale 

the  monstrous  rollers  of  the  Southern  Ocean  hurled 
thcn^'^clves  vainlv,  retiring  sullenly  in  clouds  of  spray 
and  leagues  of  foam.  It  was  a  place  of  strife  farthest 
removed  from  the  languorous  peace  of  our  last  resting- 
place  that  one  could  possibly  imagine,  yet  mexpressibly 
grateful  to  me,  who  felt  in  all  my  members  the  need 
for  vigorous  action.  This  stern  sea,  those  chill  winds 
that  howled  over  the  whitening  expanse  of  waters, 
sent  the  life  bounding  through  my  arteries,  and  I  felt 
myself  growing  with  abnormal  rapidity,  longing  to  test 
my  strength,  ^  :ger  to  fight.  _ 

Up  out  of  the  boiling  foam  there  sprang  a  mighty 
morr^ain  top,  a  pinnacle  of  rock  that,  reaching  down 
into  the  darkening  depths  of  that  stern  ocean,  soared 
into  the  air  as  far  again.     And  around  it  we  circled 
feeding,  for  here  food  was  even  more  abundant  than 
within  the  Bab-el-Mandcb,  my  only  standard  of  com- 
parison.    The  storm  raged  higher  and  high,  r,  the  great 
waves  hurled  d     nselves  headlong  from  Uieir  world- 
encircling    journey    against    the    mountain   base   and 
whitened  its  summit  with  spray,  but  still,  all  unheedmg 
their  strife,  we  made  our  rounds  feeding,  ev-er  feeding. 
For  we  had  only  to  sink  a  few  yards  to  be  in  profoundest 
peace   no  tumult  of  wind  and  sea  affected  us,  except 
fa.ourably,  in  that  the  agitation  of  the  whole  oceanic 
mass  in  these  comparatively  shallow  waters  stirred  up 
the  creai  ires  upon   which  we   fed   and   made  them 
easier  to  obtain.     Gradually  it  dawned  upon  me  that 
our  ranks  were  being  augmented  by  many  strangers^ 
Whales   I    had   certainly   never   seen   before   rubbed 
shoulders  with  me,  but  communicated  no  sign      Until 
when  the  next  morning  broke  bleakly  and  cheerless 
over  the   foaming  surface  of   the  straits   there  were 
hundreds  of  our  kind  gathered,   as  if  at  some  pre- 
ananged  rendezvous   for   some   definite   purpose.    1 


i 


Mystery  and  Added  Prowess     27 

frit  a  j-rcat  i^ride  at  being  one  of  this  mighty  concourse, 
this  assemblage  of  the  mightiest  creatures  livmg,  and 
I  had  some  dun  idea  that  maybe  I  might  distmguish 
,,n-^'lf  in  some  manner  among  them  ;  for  I  was  now 
g.ttmg  wlU  grown,  though  far  behind  our  noble  chief 

HI  his  gigantic  maj-sty.  .,     ^i  •  ^ 

It  was  a  premonition  full  of  truth,  for  on  the  third 
a  IV   after  our  arrival  wliile  in   company  with   some 
hundreds  of  mv  fellows  I  lav  basking  in  the  clear  sun- 
J.iue    the  warning  signal  pa.sed  tlu-ough  me,  teUing 
,  ,i  terrible  danger  verv  near.     How  it  is  communicated 
1  .annot  tell  you  ;   neither  by  speech  nor  sound  of  any 
kind  are  we  apprised  of  the  presence  of  an  enemy, 
Wut  m  every  fibre  of  our  bodies  we  suddenly  feel  that 
,1  ni  'er  is  near.     Only  we  do  not  know  from  whence 
it  is'commg.     We  are  intensely  on  the  alert,  but  that 
is  aU      I  lay  like  most  of  mv  fellows  upon  the  shining 
sea  surface,  my  columnar  head  half  out  of  the  water, 
my   bodv    slightly   arched   and    my    tail   quiveringly 
pi  iving  from  side  to  side  as  if  seeking  to  test  the  vibra- 
tujiis  of  tlie  water.     Suddenly  an  unfamiliar  tremor 
ran   through  me  (I   heard  nothing  because  with  us 
hearing   is   almost  a  lost  sense)   and   immediately    I 
frit  a  sharp   stinging    pain   slioot   through    my  right 
Mde      Filled  with   rage   as  well   as   alarm,   I   sprang 
l^MNvard,  fueling  as  I  did  a  drag  at  the  wound  in  my 
.uie.      Instinctively    I    dived,    turning    a    somersault 
beneath  the  water,  and  coming  up  with  a  furious  rush 
..hunt  twenty  vards  astern  of  my  former  position.     As 
I  did  so,  I  caught  a  glimpse  of  a  strange  white  monster, 
Ion-  and  narrow,  with  two  iAender  legs  on  each  side, 
•      an<l  throwing  my  tail  high,  delivered  a  blow  at  it  with 
'       all  my  force.     I  felt  my  stroke  take  eilect,  saw  as  I 
i      came  to  the  surface  again  a  quantity  of  strange  frag- 
1     muits  Heating,  but  beyond  all  1  felt  the  smarting. 


i 


28  Autobiography  of  a  Sperm  Whale 

burning  pain  of  my  wound,  and  without  seeking  turther 
revenge,  sank  down,  down,  into  the  cool  d  )ths  where 
I  knew  no  enemy  could  ever  come. 

My  fellows  were  all  scattered  far  and  wide  ;  all 
cohesion  or  discipline  seemed  to  have  ended,  'vv^hat, 
then,  could  this  dreadful  calamity  mean  ?  Was  there 
an  enemy  before  wliich  even  our  splendid  leader 
trembled  and  lied  ?  And  I  felt  'ull  of  fear  and  wonder 
as  the  dread  possibilities  of  a  supremely  powerful  foe 
having  overtaken  us  surged  through  my  brain.  I 
remained  down  to  the  full  limit  ot  my  endurance, 
seeing  nothing  of  any  of  my  companions  during  the 
time.  But  when  I  reached  the  surface  again,  I  felt 
the  rallying  signal  vibrating  through  my  body,  and 
hurrying  in  the  indicated  direction  soon  rejoined  the 
school.  Then  I  learned  that  the  strange  monster  I 
had  destroyed  was  a  boat  with  men  in  it,  who  were 
armed  witli  terrible  weapons,  compared  to  which  our 
jaws  and  flukes  were  but  clumsy  and  almost  useless. 
They  had  wantonly  attacked  us  for  some  reason  of 
their  own,  and  had  succeeded  in  slaying  two  of  our 
number,  who,  paralysed  with  alarm  at  the  sudden 
onslaught,  had  made  but  a  poor  defence,  and  had 
fallen  comparatively  easy  victims.  Me  the  great 
chief  singled  out  for  high  honours.  He  told  me  that 
I  had  begun  well  ;  that  having  once  realised  my  own 
power,  and  been  successful  in  repelling  this  savage 
attack,  1  should  be  far  more  formidable  to  man  than 
any  whale  could  be  who  liad  never  been  assailed. 
For  my  wound  was  after  all  but  a  trille,  only  a  long 
trailing  thing  behind  it  made  it  gall  me.  My  chief, 
however,  advised  me  to  take  no  heed  of  it.  It  would 
soon  cease  to  annoy  me,  for  either  the  tooth  imbedded 
in  my  blubber  would  be  dragged  out  by  the  trailing 
weight  behind,  or  the  weight  would  drop  off  and  leave 


■r. 


■■A 


1? 

'-  s 
< 

mi 

J>     -J, 

2 


I 


I 


A   Land  of   Ice 


29 


the  weapon  buried  in  my  body,  when  the  healing  sea 
would  soon  close  up  the  wound. 

Then,  feeling  that  such  a  nn,t;libourhood  was  un- 
pleasant  to  remain  in,  our  chief  led  us  farther  south, 
to  wliere  a  group  of  mountains  just  raised  their  heads 
liuin   the   tremendous  depths   to   a  little    above   the 
surface.     Here,  he  said,  he  had  never  known  man  come 
even  in  the  days  when  few  haunts  of  our  people  were 
secure.     Yet  here  we  had  almost   all  lost   our  lives 
through  a  singular  misfortune  which  befell  us.      We 
had  entered  a  little  bay  scooped  out  of  one  of  the 
mountain-sides,  with  a  very  narrow  neck,  not  much 
larger  than  would  admit  one  of  us  at  a  time.     At  the 
entrance  it  was  shallow,  but  within  it  widened  and 
deepened  so  much  that  it  was  an  ideal  place  to  rest  in. 
while  from  the  surface  on  either  side  the  st-ep  walls 
of  cliff   rose  sheer  for  a  great  height.     And  it  was 
literally  crawling  with  huge  cuttles,  our  natural  and 
greatly-loved  food. 

Here  we  were  feeding  in  perfect  content,  and  I  had 
almost  forgotten  my  recent  adventure,  when  suddenly 
a  chill  struck  through  my  very  marrow  ;    I  felt  as  if 
my  vital  forces  were  about  to  cease  their  duties.     We 
all  felt  it  at  the  same  time— that  dread  cold  which  is 
the  horror  of  the  Sperm  Whale,  and  makes  him  avoid, 
as  if  It  were  a  pla!.',ue-spot,  the  vicinity  of  ice.     But, 
the  first  shock  of  alarm  over,  we  sought  the  cause,  and 
frand  to  our  dismay  that  the  narrow  entrance  was 
entirely  blocked  by  a  monstrous  iceberg,  which  had 
drifted  in  there  and  become  jammed  between  the  jaws 
of  the  pass.     So  were  we  all  prisoners,  and  at  the  mercy 
of  the  cold,  nor  could  our  instincts  tell  us  how  great 
the  danger  was  or  what  were  our  chances  of  escape. 
:     My  hrst  impulse  was  to  dash  wildly  at  that  great  white 
waU  that  blocked  the  way  to  liberty  ;  but,  fortunately, 


-  X 


30   Autobiography  of  a  Sperm  Whale 

I  restrained  myself,  and  following  the  example  of  my 
chief,  went  on  feeding,  instinctively  realising  that 
much  food  was  needed  to  keep  out  the  ellec<-:  of  the 
cold. 

So  for  several  days  and  nights  we  remained  in  this 
prison,  eating  throughout  every  waking  hour.  I  kept 
returning  to  the  icy  barrier,  much  as  I  hated  and  feared 
it,  and  even  forced  myself  to  try  and  wriggle  beneath 
it.  And  at  last,  as  I  was  burrowing  like  a  sand-groper, 
I  felt  a  sudden  trembling  of  the  whole  vast  mass  above 
me,  and  with  a  crash  as  if  of  an  earthquake  I  was  hurled 
forward  full  twenty  times  my  own  lengtli  and  lay 
stunned,  bleeding,  and  helpless.  I  slowly  rose  to  the 
surface  without  any  volition  of  my  own,  and  feebly 
spouting,  felt  my  senses  coming  back  to  me.  I  was 
presently  joined  by  my  companions,  whose  admiration 
of  me  now  was  greatly  increased,  for  they  attributed 
their  deliverance  to  me.  But  I  had  been  so  sadly 
ill-used  by  that  tremendous  blow  that,  had  it  not  been 
for  tho  stored-up  energy  of  all  the  food  I  had  been  so 
plentifully  devouring  lately,  and  an  exceptionally 
powerful  physique,  I  should  certainly  have  been  un- 
able to  keep  up  with  the  school,  and  should  probably 
have  died  quietly  or  been  slain  by  order  of  the  chief. 
Our  mighty  race  tolerates  no  weakhngs  or  cripples. 
Putting  forth  all  my  powers,  I  accompanied  the 
school  to  the  Crozets,  where  another  rich  feeding- 
ground  awaited  us,  and  by  the  time  we  quitted  there 
I  was  not  only  fully  restored  to  my  usual  vigour, 
but  was  rapidly  approaching  the  dimensions  of  our 
leader. 

Now  in  a  community  like  ours  there  are  just  three 
ruling  motives,  each  causing  us  to  e.xercise  all  our 
powers.  First,  the  desire  for  food.  Instinct  assisted 
by  training  teaches  us  whales  to  find  it,  and  to  that 


snBmm:^"'nmntm.m-'  "nv'^^^ 


msam 


Pride   of  Race 


31 


search  everything  is  subordinated.  Our  vast  bodies  re- 
quire so  mucli  nourislmu'ut,  and  that  of  a  certain  kind, 
that  we  must  place  tiiis  need  before  all  others.  More- 
ovrr,  we  are,  as  compared  with  the  smaller  denizens 
of  the  sea,  upon  many  of  whicli  we  miglit  feed  were  it 
possible  to  catch  them,  very  slow  and  clumsy  in  our 
niownients.  The  gigantic  cuttle-lish  alone,  which  hides 
its  mighty  gelatinous  bulk  in  tlie  submarine  caves  at  the 
roots  of  the  mountains  is  capable  of  satisfying  our 
( iiormous  appetites  and  of  being  fairly  easily  obtained. 
Creatures  of  smaller  bulk  and  lesser  prowess  tlian  ours 
It  (loL's  not  fear.  They  become  its  comparatively  easy 
prey.  But  we  are  invincible,  invulnerable  ;  against 
our  onslaught  no  cuttle-lish  can  defend  itself  when  we 
-ire  full  grown. 

This  then  is  our  primal  need,  as  indeed  it  is  of  most 
'Teatures  tliat  live,  althougli  many  are  able  to  subordin- 
ate it  to  other  needs  for  long  periods  at  a  time,  notably 
the  seals.  Next  comes  the  love  motive,  the  intense 
over-mastering  desire  to  have  wives  and  children,  and 
coupled  with  it,  really  a  consequence  of  it,  the  desire  for 
suprLinacy  over  our  fellows.  These  two  last  only  apply 
to  the  males  ;  our  females  are  almost  like  beings  of 
another  race,  so  inferior  to  us  are  they  in  size,  in  agility, 
in  ferocity.  The  full-grown  Sperm"  Whale  cow  never 
exceeds  •.;  size  half  the  dimensions  of  the  full-grown 
bull,  and  IS,  moreover,  a  gentle,  timid  creature  whose 
"lie  object  is  to  keep  near  her  lord,  to  obey  his  lightest 
-sign,  and  who  will  cheerfully  remain  by  his  side  and  die 
With  lum  if  he  be  m  danger  of  death.  As  I  have  before 
liinted  tliey  are  not  fond  mothers,  taking  the  earliest 
possible  oppoi  tunity  of  shaking  off  the  yoke  of  maternal 
cares,  but  they  endeavour  to  make  up  for  this  by  their 
absolute  devotion  to  the  head  of  the  family. 

rile  young  bulls  are  in  an  anomalous  position.     For 


u 

ii 

id. 

H 

t 


I 


32  Autobiography  of  a  Sperm  Whale 

a  long  time  they  are  mere  nobodies.    Tlicy  are  of  the 
family,  but  have  nothing  to  do  with  it  but  obey  the 
lead  of  tlie  cliief.     All  t'  c  privileges  of  his  leadership 
are   theirs,   also  the  lore   which   he  has  accumulated 
gradually  passes  to  tlicm  as  they  follow  him  about  the 
oceans  of  the  world.     They  cannot  help  learning,  for 
imitation  is  one  of  the  primary  laws  of  their  being,  which 
they  can  no  more  disol)ey  than  they  can  help  feeling 
hungry.     And  all  tlu'y  have  to  do  is  to  eat  and  grow  ; 
love  affairs  do  not  trouble  them  until  they  are  full- 
grown.     Then,  when   instinct   compels   them  to   cast 
amorous  glances  upon  the  young  cows  of  about  their 
own  age,  another  instinct  warns  them  that  before  love 
must  come  war.     And  so  it  comes  to  pass  that  at  a 
certain  period  in  the  life  of  the  school  there  are  furious 
battles  beiween  the  young  bulls,  battles  that  sometimes 
result  in  the  death  of  one  or  both  of  the  combatants, 
and  sometimes  in  that  terrible  disablement  and  dis- 
figurement known  as  twistea  jaw,  where  the  bone  of  the 
long  mandible-like  lower  jaw  is  wrenched  to  one  side, 
at  right  angles  to  the  line  of  the  body.     Then  the 
sufferer  is  thrust  out  of  the  school,  never  again  to  know 
the  fellowship  of  his  kind,  but  to  wander  unsatisfied 
and  lonely  until  his  life's  end.     The  vict(jr  in  the  battle, 
upon  which  the  great  chief  of  the  school  looks  gr;'     ly 
and  with  perfect  impartiality,  may  then  form  a  sciiuol 
of  his  own.     He  proudly  selects  for  himself  wives  from 
among  the  young  cows  and  departs  to  use  for  himself 
the  wisdom  he  has  learned  during  his  adolescence. 

So  the  making  of  ;•  w  families  goes  on  until  finally 
there  arises  a  young  bull  who,  seeing  that  the  leader  is 
not  so  fierce  or  so  agile  as  of  old,  feels  called  upon  to 
put  his  headship  to  tlu.  test  and  h:_;)ly  succeed  in  driving 
him  from  his  place  and  filling  t'^e  same  himself  more 
efficiently.     Then   a   treiiK  lulous   ligli*^    'msues   lasting 


My  Ambitions 


33 


sonictim.-  fr.)m  the  ri^inc?  to  the  Pfttiii-  of  the  sun. 
\ud  the  outcome  is  (;lU'n  th.it  thr  ol-l  km-  is  hrateu, 
,1,  ,,„.L'<h  and  driven  forth  towaiuKT  -.Ul.nv,  it  may  be 
f,,r  many  wars,  throu-h  tlie  uidcoci'  m^  whrrc  once  he 
ranged  asan  ocean  monarch,  leader  of  a  i,'reat  family, 
1, lit  now  doomed  to  hnisli  his  journey  alone. 

Now  in  this  long  digression  I  li  ive  sou-ht  to  show 
the  cu>toms  of  our  people  as  regards  familv  life,  for  the 
iva-^on  that  to  me  was  rai>idly  approaching  the  time 
vshen  I  must  needs  do  battle  with  niv  peers  for  the  right 
to  lead.     I  had  no  choice,  nor  did  I  desire  any.     I  felt 
k.enlv  eau.r  to  light,   the  more  so  because  my  two 
(Xj.l.nts  had  ahvadv  brought  me  fame,  as  it  is  under- 
^to,Kl  bv  us,  and  also  because  tliere  were  several  win- 
some cow.-,  wlio  l(joked  lovingly  upon  me.     They  kept 
iirar  me  in  tlie  school  wlien  we  were  on  our  passages, 
m  ^pite  of  thi-  jealous  efforts  made  by  the  other  young 
bulU  to  edge  between  us.     Many  attempts  were  made 
to  provoke  me  to  hght,  but  I  disregarded  them  all. 
Mme  was  a  loftier  aim,  a  higher  ambition.     I  aspired 
to  leaderslup  of  the  school,  although  there  was  no  sign 
visible  that  our  chief  was  growing  too  old  to  lead.     All 
tlie  more  glory  I  felt,  for  me,  if  I  could  overcome  him 
and  take  his  place. 

Consecpiently  battle  after  battle  took  place  among 
mv  young  fellow-bulls,  and  several  new  families  were 
founded  and  led  away,  as  we  journeyed  about  the  oceans 
of  t!..>  world.  One  battle  royal  took  place  m  the  Indian 
Ocean,  near  where  I  was  born,  anrl  a  contemporary  of 
my  own,  born  three  days  after  me,  led  off  four  young 
cows  triumphantly.  Another  founded  a  new  family 
on  the  coast  of  Japan,  another  off  the  Sandwich  Islands, 
another  in  the  North  Atlantic,  where  a  great  ship-full 
of  men  and  women  paused  to  view  the  liglit  and  held 
their  breath  to  see  how  hercely  strove  the  monarchs 


^  > 
s  ^ 


34  Autobiography  of  a  Sperm  Whale 


of  thf  (l>'t'i>,  tli')u,L:h  knowiiip;  nothing  of  tlic  c.iust'  of 
quarrel  or  of  tlie  pri/c  of  xictory. 

Still  I  bided  inv  time,  to  the  WDiidcr  of  my  compan- 
ions, until  a  vounger  gtucration  ucrf  fa>t  approaching 
the  time  when  thev  too  would  att.iin  to  full  whalcliood 
and  free  citizenship  of  the  ixt  an.  MeanuhiU'.  I  always 
kipt  close  to  the  (  hief,  watching  his  ever\'  niovenient, 
noting  all  his  wise  ways,  and  absorbing  all  tliat  he  had 
to  teach,  initil  at  last,  as  we  fed  around  the  bases  of  tliat 
lonely  rock  in  mid  South  Atlantic,  Inacce--ible  Island, 
while  the  furious  southern  storm  raged  ariMuul  us  and 
lifted  its  vast  waves  towards  the  sky,  I  calmly  chall- 
enged his  supri^macy.  Hv  had  given  the  signal  to 
depart  northwards  in  consequeiu  :•  of  tiie  inclemency 
of  the  sea.  .Xnd  I  (]c  'loiutl  his  wi-doin.  I  pointed 
out  that  here  was  abundant  food,  that  the  storms  did 
not  affect  us.  that  all  were  wtll  contt'ut  to  remain  here 
but  he,  and  that  it  appeared  as  if  the  le.ideiship  of  such 
a  school  as  we  were  was  becoming  a  task  beyond  his 
powers.  Otiier  familv  matters  I  touched  upon  which 
need  not  be  enlarged  about  here,  such  as  tlie  dwindling 
numbers  of  our  new  calves,  cpiite  insufticient  to  supply 
the  war^te  of  departures.  .\nd  I  concluded  by  offering 
to  contest  the  headship  with  him  at  once. 

Durmg  all  this  time  the  rest  of  the  school  lay  in  a 
wide  circle  of  which  we  two  were  the  centre,  their  huge 
black  bodies  almost  motionless,  like  wave-beaten  rocks 
protruding  above  the  surface  of  the  foaming  sea.  He 
and  I  lay  nearly  head  on  to  each  other  without  move- 
ment, not  seeing  each  other,  but  that  mysterious  sense 
of  ours,  which  I  have  before  mentioned,  in  full  activity. 
Well  was  it  for  me  that  I  had  waited  so  long,  and  had 
rehearsed  to  myself  all  possibilities  of  his  behaviour 
when  I  should  challenge  him.  For  suddenly,  as  if 
hurled  by  a  stupendous  wave,  he  launched  himself  at 


i 


I  Win  the  Headship 


35 


me — and  missed  me  by  a  y-ird,  for  I  had  felt  him  coming' 
ami  given  one  tremendous  s^veej)  with  inv  tlukes  that 
had  carried  me  forward  and  downward  withal.  Keeping 
jii-t  jjcneath  tlie  surfac  e  I  felt  for  him  cautiously,  every 
suiew  tense  for  the  blow  I  meant  to  deal  when  I  should 
touch  hull.  But  I  had  for  an  adversary  one  of  the 
wiliest  as  w\ll  as  miglitiest  of  Sperm  Whales,  and  my 
oiilv  hi>\h'  of  victory,  apart  from  the  chances  cT  accident, 
was  to  copy  his  tactics  with  that  rapidity  of  learnnit^ 
which  is  our  birthri-jht,  .md  trust  to  my  superior  youtii 
and  con^eiiuLut  viguur  to  put  them  into  practice  for 
his  (icirat. 

So  we  circled  around  each  other  warily,  he  occasion- 
ally making  one  of  his  awful  rushes  either  under  or 
above  water,  according  to  our  position  at  the  time,  for 
wl  lie  life  remains  to  us  we  must  obey  the  irresistible 
call  of  our  lungs,  and  rise  or  sink  in  accordance  there- 
with. I  kept  strictly  on  the  defensive,  husbanding  my 
strength  for  the  hist  sign  of  my  old  ruler's  weakening, 
and  so,  without  harm  done  to  either,  the  long  tierce 
(1 1\-  rolled  slowly  on.  Then  I  noticed  that  his  rushes 
were  not  so  vigonnis,  he  was  losing  his  caution,  and  also 
iiis  temper,  for  every  silent  taunt  that  we  know  so  well 
how  to  convey  without  making  a  sound,  he  was  now 
u>ing  profusely. 

Suddenly  I  saw  my  opportunity  ;  he  was  lying  in 
sucli  a  position  that  he  could  not  see  me,  and  his  vast 
lower  mandible  hung  down  temptingly,  a  gleaming 
white  bar  against  the  deep  blue  of  the  sea.  Without 
111  iking  a  ripple  I  arched  my  body  nearly  double,  then 
ulea>ing  the  tension  sprang  forward  at  him,  turning 
witluJ  and  gripping  his  jaw  in  mine.  The  ocean  boiled 
with  our  elforts,  he  to  free  himself  and  I  to  hold  on.  At 
b..--t  came  a  rending  crack,  I  felt  the  jaw  give  in  mine, 
and  knew  that  I  was  \ietor.     Releasing  my  hold  I 


I     -li: 


30  Autobiography  of  a  Sperm  Whale 

cpnuii,'  to  thr  sui  facr  .i.i.l  awaitrd  liis  romin-.  As  soon 
as  he  appraivd  I  rauuMl  blows  uixm  hini  uitli  inv  tail 
until  all  motion  on  his  ])art  rcasi-d,  and  lu'  lav,  cxcrpt 
for  the  grntU'  wa.h  of  the  waves  about  his  hiiip  body, 
quite  supmc.  1  in.nird.,.trlv  mustered  the  seho.,1,  gave 
the  si-iial  of  conmiaiid,  and  in  a  compaet  bodv  we  all 
sped  Twav,  leavm-  our  late  eliief  to  enter  into  a  new 
sphere  of  usefulne>>  in  tlie  bndus  of  the  invriad  seaven- 
g,,rs  of  the  ^ea  ahea.lv  ha.t.  ning  to  the  enormous 
bancuiet  1  had  spread  for  them. 

Thenceforward     1     I'd     the    school     triumphantly 
through   the   various  ocaiis   for  manv  years.     But   I 
never  allowed  a  voung  bull  to  linger  when  it  was  time 
that  he  sliould  L^o.      If  he  refused  the  combat  I  would 
drivo  him  out  ;    1  would  have  no  one  wait  for  me  as  I  did 
for  my  chief,  althougli  I  had  little  to  fear,  tor  I  had 
become  even  a  mightier  monarch  than  he,  and  wi<er  by 
far    I  knew.     Yet  never  did  I  get  an  opportunity  to 
show  mv  wisdon-'.  ripest  fruitage  until  on.'  day  oft  the 
old  Solander  again,  wh.  re  I  hist  felt  the  touch  of  that 
horrible    barbed    weai.on  :     I    knew    tliat    there    were 
enemies  about.     I  ordered  all  my  tribe  to  make  full 
speed  to  the  westward,  while  I  remained  to  guard  their 
retreat  •    and  wonderfully  they  obeyed  me.     In  the 
space  of  three  spouts  they  had  disappeared,  gliding 
along  beneath  the  sea  at  top  speed.     I  lay  as  if  asleep, 
but  by  an  almost  impercep-tible  motion  of  my  tlukes 
gradually  turning,  turning,  so  that  wlien  three  of  the 
white  monsters  I  remembered  so  well  rushed  upon  me, 
I  seeing  them  coming,  suddenly  turned  a  full  somersault 
and  fell  among  them.     One  was  crushed  to  fragmeu+s 
the  other  two  strove  to  escape,  but  I  hurled  myself 
after  them,  as  the  dolphin  after  the  tU-mg-tish,  and 
presently  they  had  both  fidlen  into  morsels  under  my 
furious  blows.    Then,  calming  down  at  once,  I  foUowed 


J 


.-{2 
^  > 


My  Serene  Adolescence         37 

in  the  wake  of  mv  familv,  sedately  satiofied.  but  resolved 
i„  x-,r  to  timpt  my  fortune  and  that  of  those  dear  to 
>uc   by  venturing  on  the  Solander  (Ground  again. 

And  now  I  think  I  must  conclude  my  s^ory.     I  am 
.till  in  the  full-tide  of  vigorous  life,  not  yet  more  than 
1,^,11-  ;i  .vntury  old,  and  probably  destined  to  lead  the 
school  for  another  quarter  of  a  century.     Then  it  may 
1„-  ,ny  fate  to  be  ousted  by  one  of  my  family  and  roam 
...lita'rv  for  manv  seasons  more     Hut  I  hope  not.     I 
wouldf.un  end  mv  splendid  career  in  battle  at  the  jaws 
and  llukes  of  one  of  my  sons,  who  should  be  a  worthy 
.ucressor.     Very  pleasant  my  life  has  been  to  me,  the 
lew  ri'ally  dangerous  meetings  I  have  had  with  enemies 
h  ivuig  onlv  served  to  heighten  the  delight  uf  Uving. 
I  ha\e  been,  and  am,  fondly  loved  :   I  have  always  been 
1,  angry,  and  always  found  food  in  abundance.     I  have 
traversed  every  sea,  and  been  respectfully  greeted  by 
.vriv  form  of"  sea-folk— they  have  even  saluted  me 
when  about  to  enter  the  vast  cavern  of  my  stomach. 
Mv  thick  coating  of   creamy  fat,  the  huge  reservoir 
of" oil  I  carry  in  mv  head,  has  grown  richer  and  richer, 
until  now  I  am  wealtliiest  of  my  people  :    never  have 
I  sreii  one  of  them  that  would  dare  measure  ins  m.ght 
against  mine. 

I  inh(  rit  tlie  pride  of  my  splendid  race.  I  know  that 
we  are  the  oldest  of  living  created  things,  as  well  as  the 
mightiest,  and  I  rejoice  to  know  that  the  persecution 
we  once  enduied  at  the  hands  of  the  big-brained  insects 
of  the  land  is  over  now,  or  practically  so.  Every  hour 
of  ni\-  life  is  a  delight.  The  swift,  irresistible  rush  along 
the  raging  sea,  or  the  soft  gliding  through  balmy  waters 
lit  up  by  mellow  sunshine,  the  sudden  change  as  we 
sink  into  the  cool,  translucent  depths,  and  the  thrill 
as  we  seize  the  mii-ky  mollusc  in  iiis  lair  and,  dragging 
Inn  upwards,  tear  and  devour  his  juicy,  succulent  Hesh. 


a 


.-3  2 


Si? 


38  Autobiography  of  a  Sperm  Whale 

The  long,  steady  journey  of  thousands  of  miles,  straight 
as  the  dolphin  leaps,  without  molestation,  with  only 
the  happy  company  of  our  own  people,  and  the  long, 
pleasant  davs  wlicn,  free  from  the  necessity  of  watchful- 
ness, we  take  our  fill  of  love,  of  food,  and  of  sportive 
gambols  :  ah  !  tucse  are  the  things  that  make  our  life 
in  the  deep,  the  beautiful  sea,  thrice  happy. 

There  be  man}-  things  about  us  that  none  can  ever 
know  but  ourselves;  our  sickness,  which  produces 
matter  treasured  by  the  gieedy  earthmen  ;  our  length 
of  days  ;  our  small  brains,  but  great  intelligence— these 
are  of  the  deep-sea  secrets  that  pigmy  man  shall  never 
understand.  But  to  you,  my  friend,  because  you  have 
loved  us  and  striven  to  do  us  justice,  I  have  revealed 
thus  much,  in  the  hope  that  the  knowledge  may  bring 
you  joy.     And  so,  farewell ! 


I 


% 


CHAPTER    III 
THE    MYSTICETUS,    OR    RIGHT    WHALE 

PARTLY  because  my  acquaintance  with  him  is  so 
much  less,  and  partly  because  I  know  that  lus 
intclhgence  is  of  a  much  lower  order  than  that  of 
Uu.  .perm  whale,  I  shall  not  permit  this  huge  creature 
t:    lus  own  story.    Indeed,  I  could  not;  for  there  is  a 
:  e  et  connected  with  this  particular  whale  which  ha. 
„,,,>r  yet  been  revealed,  nor,  although  it  is  a  bold  thing 
.  J,  does  there  seem  any  prospect  tha    it  will  be 
linellv   It  IS,  what  does  he  do  with  himself  during    he 
l„nu  night  of  the  Arctic  regions,  when  open  water. 
a  ilutely  necessary  to  him  as  to  other  sea-mammals 
It  obt'ainable,  all  the  Polar  Seas  being  locked  undr 
nvuiy  feet  of  ice  ?     Nothing  can  well  be  more  certain 
Zthat  he  does  not  come  south,     fe  has  nev-er  been 
seen  in  temperate  waters,  not  though  the  e^t  rpnsing 
whale-iishers,  driven  south  by  ^l^e  ;3ncroaclii  g  ice  at 
the  approach  of  winter  have  sought  him  with  infimte 
care      Where,  then,  does  he  spend  the  long  inonths  of 
;r Arctic  winter,  utterly  dark  but  for  the  Northern 
Lights  (Aurora  Boreahs),  utterly  unnavigable  by  any 

ice-breaker  known  ?  .  x  ^«r,  Pnlir 

Some  have  formulated  a  theory  of  an  open  Polar 
Sea,  whither  buds  and  mammals  retire  during  this 
UUter  time,  but  the  idea  is  chimerical  untenable  for 
,.  nionunit.  If  there  is  anything  hrmly  set  Id  con- 
canuig   tlie   Arctic   regions   it   is   that,   whether   any 

39 


5 


40    The  Mysticetus,  or  Right  Whale 

explorer  rca'iios  the  Polo  or  not,  we  know  exactly  the 
conditions  whicli  obtain  there.  In  any  case,  only  six 
luuulred  miles  or  so  separate  the  farthest  north  of  the 
cxpltinr  from  that  apex  of  the  earth  known  as  the 
North  Pole,  w!;:rh  when  it  is  reached  will  certainly  be 
just  tiie  same  dreary  dismal  expanse  of  hummocky  ice 
or  frozen  snow-covered  land  that  we  already  know  so 
well. 

Where,  then,  docs  the  Right  Whale  go  in  the  winter? 
We  do  not  know,  but  an  easy  and  plausible  assumption 
is  that  he  hybcrnates  beneath  the  ice  as  does  the 
alligator  in  the  mud,  the  bear  in  his  hollow  tree,  the 
marmot,  and  the  dormouse,  not  to  sjieak  of  other 
hybernators  or  winter  sleep-rs.  As  an  assumption 
this  must  pass  rmtil  we  know,  which  does  net  seem 
at  all  a  likely  thing  to  happen. 

The  Right  Whale  of  the  Arcti  Seas,  Bowhead  of 
the  North  Pacific,  is  probably,  individual  for  individual, 
the  largest  of  all  God's  creatures.  But  there  is  some 
little  doubt  as  to  his  bemg  larger  than  tlie  sperm  whale, 
because  whalemen  calculate  the  sizes  of  their  gigantic 
victims  by  the  numbe-  of  barrels  of  oil  they  yield. 
Now  tlie  sperm  whale,  ranging  temperate  and  tropical 
seas,  does  not  need,  and  therefore  does  not  carry,  a 
great  thickness  of  blubber  over  his  flesh.  True,  the 
reservoir  of  spermaceti  in  his  head  does  something  to 
equalise  this,  but  not  enough.  The  greatest  yield  of 
oil  and  spermaceti  from  any  sperm  whale  that  I  have 
been  able  to  obtain  any  information  about  was  sixteen 
tons,  while  I  ha\e  heard  of  se\eral  cases  of  Bowhead 
in  the  Behring  Sea  trying  out  nearly  twenty-five, 
blubber  alone,  since  they  have  no  spermaceti.  Yet 
I  feel  sure,  judging  by  experience,  that  the  sixteen-ton 
sperm  whale  would  be  bulkier  than  the  more  thickly 
dad  Bowhead.     However,  let  it  go,  it's  a  moot  point, 


The  Easeful  Whale 


41 


and  wlir-ilers  gonorally  seem  to  ho  agreed  that  there  is 
iH't  much  to  choose  between  thr-e  monsters  in  point 
of  size.  That  is  as  regards  one  sex,  but  the  females 
id  ihc  Mysticcfiic  are.  as  a  rule,  larger  tiian  the  males, 
while,  as  I  h:i\-e  before  said,  the  sperm  whale  cow  never 
exceeds  half  the  size  of  tlie  bull. 

Their  lives,  by  a  curious  contrast  with  the  sperm- 
wli.ile,  are  spent  in  slow-going,  easy  fashion.  In  spite 
of  their  terrific  surroundings  of  crashing  ice-bergs, 
ire-helds  heaving  rmder  the  tremendous  pressure  of 
the  storm  wave,  and  bitter  blighting  winds  laden  with 
death  to  an\'  alien  intruder  into  that  stern  domain, 
the  Right  Whales  are  placid,  quiet,  peaceful ;  with 
an  appearance  of  great  content  with  their  surroundings. 
The  Almighty  has  ordained  that  these  vast  denizens 
of  the  frozen  Northern  Seas  shall  be  at  no  pains  to 
secure  an  abundant  supply  of  food,  and  by  one  of  those 
paradoxes  that  Nature  seems  to  delight  in,  that  food 
for  the  supply  of  the  largest  of  created  things  is  made 
up  of  the  accumulated  myriads  of  ocean's  smallest 
denizens,  that  is,  of  those  actually  visible.  From  the 
crow's-nest  of  a  whale-ship  on  a  clear  day  the  watcher 
may  see  the  ocean  lined  out  in  parti-coloured  bands 
of  rod  and  blue,  strangely  regular  and  extending  to 
the  horizon's  verge.  A  draw-bucket  plunged  into 
one  of  the  red  bands  a  hundred  feet  in  breadth  will 
bring  up  a  motley  collection  of  minute  shell-hsh,  a 
crawling,  clinging  mass  of  life  that  has  its  basis  of 
sul)>istencc  in  the  unseen  fauna  of  the  fecund  sea. 

These  tiny  Crustacea  in  their  myriads  await  the 
advent  of  the  Right  Whale,  who  ranging  lengthwise 
aleiig  the  red  bands,  inhales  his  food  without  an  effort 
until  the  enormous  cavity  of  his  mouth  is  filled  with 
untold  thousands  of  tiny  shell-fish  quite  unconscious 
of  their  transition.    Then   the  wonderful  apparatus 


9 


i 


I 


42    The  Mysticetus,  or  Right  Whale 

developed  by   this  great   cetacean   comes   into   play. 
He  bears  dependent  from  his  upper  jaw  a  series  of 
broad   plates   of   gristly   substance,    the    'whalebone' 
of  commerce  (tlu>ugh  nothing  could  be  less  like  bone). 
These  blades,  like  tliose  of  a  scythe,  depend  by  the:.' 
broad  ends  from   the  upper  jaw,  leaving  their  taper 
extrcnuties  swinging   free   in   the  great  scoop  of  the 
lower  jaw.     Their  outer  edges,  like  the  back  of  the 
scythe-blade,  are  thickish,  their  inner  edges  tre  fringed, 
hair-like  ;  and  interlacmg  each  other,  tlu'V  form  together 
a  perfect  natural  sieve.     Ik-tweLU   tlieir  rows  at  the 
bottom  of  tlie  lower  jaw  lies  an  immense  mass  of  fat 
of  nearly  two  tons  weight  in  the  full-grown  subject, 
the   tongue.     And,   tlie  mouth  being   fuU,   this  great 
tongue  slowly  rises  and  ft)rces  out  tlie  water  through 
the   sieve,   until   there  remains  only  a  heap  of  tiny 
creatures  out  of  their  element  and  sliding  gradually 
down  a  pipe  of  one  and  a  half  inches  in  diameter,  the 
gullet  of  the  Right  Whale,  which  has  led  to  so  many 
strange  errors  as  to  the  swallowing  capacity  of  whales 
in  general. 

As  the  Right  Whale,  alone  of  all  the  sea-mammals, 
feeds  in  this  marvellous  way,  so  he  alone  of  all  whales 
has  this  strangely  constricted  gullet,  a  curious  contrast 
again  with  the  sperm  whale,  who  can  swallow  morsels 
of  truly  lu'roic  size,  at  least  si.x  feet  cube  in  the  adult. 
One  point  more  in  this  connexion  ;  it  used  to  be  sup- 
posed that  the  Right  Whale,  having  filled  his  mouth 
with  food,  pumped  the  water  out  through  his  spiracles 
or  blow-holes,  until  it  was  discovered  that  the  breathing 
apparatus  of  all  sea-maninials  is  entirely  unconnected 
with  their  mouths,  and  that  it  is  an  absolute  impos- 
sibility wlule  they  live  for  any  water  to  gain  access  to 
their  breathing  channels.  The  real  process  is  as  I  have 
described. 


The  Killer  Whale 


43 


I 


As  with  the  sperm  whales,  so  among   the  Right 
Whales  the  school  or  family  obtains,  but  in  far  smaller 
numbers,  and,  indeed,  it  is  not  uncommon  to  see  a 
bull,  two  cows,  and  two  calves  comprising  the  whole 
family.     Moreover,  there  is  none  of  that  fierce  com- 
petition for  the  headship  of  the  school  so  characteristic 
of  the  great   mammal   of   the   tropical   seas.     Fights 
between  Right  Whale  bulls  are  unknown,  at  least  to 
man  ;  indeed,  they  seem  far  too  ponderous  and  sluggish 
in  their  movements  to  indulge  in  such  violent  exercise 
as  lighting.     Placid,  timorous,  and  slothful  are  their 
livis,  and  even  while  being  done  to  death  by  whale- 
hunters  they  seem  incapable  of  retaliation  or  even 
escape,  unless  indeed  some  friendly  floe  is  near,  some 
icL-ticld  beneath  which   they  may   dive,   and  haply 
through  carelessness  on  the  part  of  their  aggressors, 
drag  the  latter  after  them  to  a  swift  but  horrible  end 
beneath  that  frozen  covering.     This   sluggishness  or 
helplessness  is  partly  due  to  their  shape  and  immense 
hampering  of  fat,  in  many  cases  two  feet  in  thickness 
over  the  greater  part  of  their  bodies.     But  it  may  be 
more  reasonably  referred  to  their  food  costing  them 
no  efiort  to  obtain  it,  and  so  abundant  that  they  are 
never  found,  except  in  extreme  old  age  or  sickness, 
suffering  from  any  lack  of  fatness. 

A  typical  instance  of  this  may  be  found  in  the  ease 
with  which  the  fierce  Orca  gladiator,  or  killer  whale, 
attacks  and  overcomes  them.  He  is  rarely  one- 
hundredth  of  their  vast  bulk,  but  he  has  enterprise, 
and  teeth  in  both  jaws.  So  he,  with  half-a-dozen 
comi)anions,  will  fall  upon  a  huge  Mysticetus,  and  in 
a  few  minutes  reduce  him  to  a  helpless  island  of  flesh 
with  drooping  lower  jaw.  Through  that  vast  opening 
of  liis  mouth  the  pirates  enter  fearlessly  and  devour 
the  succulent  tongue,  disturbing  for  the  first  time  a 


9 


44    The  Mysticetus,  or  Right  Whale 


wlidlc    tribe    of    siK  i^crs   {Rcumni)   who    have    up    till 
tlu'ii  hail  iwr  wancn  in  tin-  roof  of  the  whale's  mouth, 


true  ])arasitcs.  witliout  au.^lit  to  strive  for  or  a 


neec 


unsati>lu'(l 


Tl 


len 


the  vast  victim,  his  agile  slayers 
gone,  becomes  the  prey  of  ocean's  tribes  of  scavengers, 
e\er  ready  anywliere  in  that  mighty  so-called  waste 
of  water  to  attend  to  their  duty  of  keeping  ocean 
sweet.  I'irds  above  and  fish  below  labour  furiously 
at  tlie  task  of  ridding  the  sea  of  its  incubus,  and  in  a 
very  short  time  they  succeed,  the  immense  framework 
of  bone  slowly  disintegrating  and  sinking  into  those 
silent,  unknown  depths. 

Nor  is  tlie  Ona  tlie  only  sea  foe,  as  distinguished 
from  man,  that  the  Myslicdns  has  to  fear.  The 
swordtlsh  {Xiphias),  a  huge  species  of  mackerel,  with 
a  short  sturdy  shaft  of  bone  protruding  from  his  upper 
jaw,  which  is  capable  of  penetrating  six  inches  of  solid 
oak  when  the  two  to  six-hundred-pound  body  behind 
it  gathers  its  full  momentum,  attacks  the  Mysticetus 
with  almost  maniac.d  fury,  altliough  it  cannot  do  an 
adult  much  harm  except  by  wa\-  of  worry.  For  the 
shortness  of  the  sword  (lance  it  ought  really  to  be  called 
from  its  sliapc)  does  not  admit  of  its  penetrating  beyond 
the  blubl)er  of  an  adult  Mysticetus,  except  in  non-vital 
parts.  Still,  the  swordlish  is  a  valuable  ally  to  the 
killer,  with  whom  he  often  joins  forces,  while  to  the 
young  calves  he  is  destruction  itself.  It  is  a  sight  not 
easily  to  be  forgotten  :  the  long  lithe  body  of  the 
swordlish  gliding  througli  the  sea  with  incredible 
swiftness,  like  a  streak  of  light  of  deeper  blue  than 
the  surrounding  sea,  and,  meeting  the  body  of  a  three- 
months  calf,  enter  it  as  if  it  were  tliin  air.  A  dexterous 
twist  of  the  broad  tail  and  the  weapon  is  withdrawn. 
A  gusli  of  blood  stains  the  water  biown,  and  amid  the 
murky  surroundings  the  repeated  stabs  of  the  lance, 


A  Huge  Victim 


45 


wri 


tliiiu 


)f  the  victim,  ami  the  fraiitir  tearing  of 


.ii.i-ses  (jf   tlesli   from   its   body,   are   hidden,   or  only 
ivvealed  by  a  few  hnrried  ^'hnii)scs. 

Yet  another  enemy  has  the  unfortunate  Riglit 
Whale  ;  recdly  unfortunate,  since  it  does  not  prey 
upnn  its  fellow-citizens,  except  in  the  same  se'nse  in 
which  we  prey  upon  the  animalcuhe  in  our  drinking- 
water — the  'threslr^r'  shark  (Al(>f>ccicis  vitlpcs).  Here 
1  am  aware  that  I  am  \\\n>n  higlily  controversial  ground, 
sini  e  \ery  eminent  professors  of  natural  history  deny 
that  tlie  thresher  does  attack  the  whale.  They  say, 
with  what  warrant  I  fail  to  understand  at  all,  that 
what  the  sailor  has  mistaken  for  the  attack  of  the 
thresher  on  the  wliale  has  been  the  antics  or  gambols 
of  the  hump-backed  whale,  which  has  long  arms 
(lifteen  feet  or  so),  and  is  fond  of  waving  them  in  the 
air  and  bringing  them  down  upon  the  water  with  a  loud 
smack.  They  are  entirely  wrong.  The  hump-backed 
whale  I  have  watched  very  many  times  at  his  play, 
,u:d  thougli  he  does  wave  his  arms  he  does  not  smack 
the  water  with  them  but  with  his  tail.  Also,  I  have 
seen  the  thresher  shark  attacking  the  whale  at  close 
(juarters,  so  close  indeed  that  every  movement  of  the 
shark  and  his  victim  was  plainly  visible,  and  I  can 
hanlly  imagine  any  one  mistaking  the  gambols  of  the 
whale  for  this  curious  attack.  The  shark  appears  to 
balance  himself  upon  his  head  in  the  water,  with  the 
whole  of  his  enormous  flail-like  flukes  in  the  air  at 
the  moment  of  striking  ;  then,  when  the  blow  has  been 
delivered  there  is  a  quick  descent  and  return,  like 
the  lashing  of  a  gigantic  wiiip,  while  the  blows  are 
audible  for  two  miles  on  a  calm  day.  So  heavy  are 
they  tliat  strips  of  blubber  are  cut  by  them  from  the 
I'lck  of  the  hapless  whale  four  to  six  inches  wide,  and 
two  to  hve  feet  in  length.     Here,  again,  it  is  the  worry 


51 


46    The  Mysticetus,  or  Right  Whale 

that  kills  not  the  wounds,  which  arc  (luitc  supiTficial 
and  probably  cause  httle  .ual  luni.  In  fact,  tlie 
death  of  the  whale  is  seldom  comp  issed  by  tl'.eslier 
or  sw.^rdtish  al.)ne,  but  nearly  alwa\s  in  active  asso- 
ciation with  a  group  of  killers. 

Seeing,  then,  how  he  is  begirt  with  ennnies,  and 
how  for  his  valuable  spoil  run  have  always  hunted 
him  into  tlie  farthest  navigable  recc^.es  of  his  luibitat 
,t  appears  almost  miraculous  h<nv  he  has  survived  until 
tlie  present  day.     Yes,  and  it  is  even  more  marvelous 
when  one  remembers  that,  as  compared  with  all  the 
other  species  of  whales,  his  range  is  exceedingly  limited. 
Th-  \utw  seas  wlien  freest  from  ice  form  but  a  very 
small  portion  of  the  watery  surface  of  the  globe.    SmaU, 
that   is,  comparatively  ;    yet  large  enough   to  admit 
of  these  g  >ntle  monsters  eluding  their  many  enemies 
sulhciently  to  perpetuate  the  race,  even  through  the 
fierce  war  made  upon  them  all  through  the  last  two 
centuries,  when  ships  from  all  the  Northern  European 
nations  frequented  the  Arctic  seas  in  search  of  tliem. 
Here    probably,   came   in   the  saving  power  of  that 
mvstenous   winter   disappearance.     For   at   least   six 
months  of  each  year  the  Mysticctae  enjoyed  a  close 
season  that  man,  at  any  rate,  was  unable  to  break  into, 
and  it  is  highly  probable  that  their  other  enemies  also 
departed  south.     Be  that  as  it  may.  we  are  confronted 
with  the  remarkable  fact  that,  incapable  of  effective 
llight  or  of  self-defence,  eagerly  sought  after  by  man 
and  agile  sea  enemies,  contmed  to  one  Uttle  corner  o 
thp  earth  periodically   frozen    solid,    the    vast    Right 
Whal-  still  exists,  and  as  recently  as  the  year  1900 
was  so  numerous  that  ships  in  the  Pacific  actually 
took  but  the  baleen  of  the  whales  they  caught  and  let 
the  blubber  go,  since  they  had  so  many  fish  they  could 
not  possibly  flench  them. 


1 


1 


s 
f 

1 


The   Whale's  Early   Days       47 

T.ikc  the  sprrm  \vli,il(\  tlic  Ri-lit  Wh.ilr  is  an  in- 
dillrn  lit  parent,  and  tlu-  young  one  learns  as  soon  after 
hiitli  as  pos-ible  to  attend  to  its  own  re(iuirements. 
It  grows  with  great  rapidity,  absorbing  a  prodigious 
,111  intitv  of  milk  fronn  the  mountainous  breasts  of  its 
ninth,  r,  milk  as  thick  as  the  richest  cream  and  yellowish 
in  colour.     At  this  period  of  its  life  the  young  whale 
is  slender  and  almost  gracefid  in  shape,  agile  and  full 
of  jiliy  as  all  young  creatures  are  ;    but  it  soon  settles 
down   into  the  ponderous  stately  movements  of  the 
elder  whales,  and  becomes  like  them  a  snug  abiding- 
place  for  hosts  of  external  parasites,  such  as  barnacles, 
limpets,  and  whale-lice— creatures  somewhat  like  the 
gird,  n    wocd-louse,    but    larger,    and    with    tenacious 
barbed  claws,  whereby  to  hold  on  to  the  slippery  body 
of  their  huge  host.     One  of  the  greatest  pleasures  in 
hf.    for  them  is  to  chafe  their  bodies— irritated,  one 
would  think,  unbearably— against  the  rugged  sides  of 
some  mass   of   ice.     Occasionally   they  may  be   seen 
doing  this  beneath  an  icefloe  ;    then,  when  the  need 
comes  upon  them  for  breathing,  they  calmly  rise  and 
break  a  hole  with  the  crown  of  their  heads  where  the 
double   openings   of    the    spiracles    or   blowholes   are 
situated.     Thev  remain  under  water  for  as  long  as  an 
li.)ur  and  a  half,  and  must  remain  above  for  a  corre- 
-l)onding  time,  no  matter  how  great  their  peril— from 
man,  for  instance.     A  certain  number  of  breathings 
Is  ,ai  nnperative  necessity  to  all  whales,  and  no    irre- 
i.;  ilirity  or  lessening  of  their  number  can  be  endured, 
iio"niatter  what  the  circumstances  may  be,  while  life 
lasts. 

In  these  days  the  life  of  a  R  ht  Whale  is  fairly 
j>lac;d  and  uneventful.  True,  there  are  a  few,  but  a 
very  few,  ships  that  still  enter  the  icy  seas  eacii  year 
and  catch  some  Right  Whales  ;    but  compared  with  a 


3 


f."  O 


48    The  Mysticetus,  or  Right  Whale 

cpnturv   and   a   li.ilf   nf^o,   wlirii   huiulicds  of  vessels 

■  otiuTwise  lonely 


c.if^'crlv  scan 


lud 


rWrv   11' I 


)f  tl 


nortJK  in  sims,  and  populous  woodrii  towns  s])ranp  up 


wllcrc  the  hlul 


ihiT   o 


f  tl 


IC   w 


il.ll 


c  was 


hoiK 


U>wn, 


tians>liipnR'iit  hv  voxels  chartrrrd  for  the  purj)osc, 
the  Arciic  ri  L^ioiis  arr  now  dcsiTti'd.  Soon,  very  soon, 
they  will  riMit  to  tlkir  j)riinitive  condition  before 
whaling  brcaiiic  an  industry  at  all,  and  the  great 
Circenland  Whale  will  pi'aecfully  roam  his  (juiet 
waters  unmolested  by  any  save  his  natural  enemies. 

Closilv  akin  to  the  Rij^'ht  W'iiale  of  Greenland  is 
the  Southern  Ri^ht  Wliale,  or  Balacna  austrulis. 
There  are  a  few  unimportant  differences  as  regards 
outline,  thr  SoutluTn  Wliale  being  somewhat  slenderer, 
slightly  more  'clipper  built,'  as  sailors  say.  Structur- 
ally the  two  are  almo>t  identical,  but  as  regards  habitat 
exceedingly  din'ereiit.  Unlike  his  northern  congener, 
the  Southern  Right  Whale  not  only  does  not  stick 
closely  to  the  vicinity  of  the  ice,  and  to  all  appearance 
hid(^  beneath  it  all  the  winter,  but  he  really  seems  to 
prefer  the  waters  outside  of  the  Antarctic  Circle,  and 
is  found  in  large  number^-  as  far  north  as  the  Cape  of 
Good  Hope.  His  best-loved  region  would  appear  to 
be,  roughly,  the  vast  stretch  of  ocean  between  30°  and 
65^  S.  He  is  especially  fond  of  the  vicinity  of  land, 
and  half  a  century  ago,  in  addition  to  a  goodly  fleet 
of  vessels,  mostly  French,  cruising  in  those  regions  in 
search  of  him.  there  were  many  shore  whaling  stations, 
established  at  some  point  where  there  was  good  har- 
bourage and  facility  for  dealing  with  the  gigantic 
prizes.  The  crews  of  these  stations  were  usually  a 
motley,  hard-bitten  crowd,  co-partners,  fierce,  and 
careless  of  risk  to  life  or  limb.  They  chased  the  whale 
from  shore  in  their  boats,  and  having  killed  him  had 
a  herculean  task  to  tow  him  back.     The  work  both  of 


The   Unobservant  Sailor        49 


liunting  and  realising  the  spoil  was  tcrriric,  and  it 
illiinatod  with  long  spi'Ils  of  absolute  idlent'ss,  when 
wliales  came  near  enough  to  be  att.'cked,  or  for  some 
rr.ison  none  were  seen  at  all.  Yet  thtTe  was  a  savage 
frcfdom  about  it  whicli  ap[)ealed  to  those  rough  repre- 
sentatives of  many  lands,  and  apparently  it  pleased 
tluin  well,  in  spite  of  its  appalling  dangers,  terrible 
liar(l--liip^,  and  scanty  rewards. 

A  singular  circumstance  connected  with  the  haunts 
nf  the  Southern  Kiglit  Whale  is  noteworthy,  as  showiig 
how  little  of  a  naturalist  or  observer  the  sailor  is. 
Daring  tiie  Antarctic  expedition  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  all  the  log-keepers,  with  the  exception  of 
Captain  Weddell,  who  was  a  whaie-fishcr,  were  enthu- 
siastic in  tlieir  reports  of  the  enornii,  jS  number  of  valu- 
alile  whales  (Right  and  Siierm  Whales  are  repeatedly 
mentioned)  in  those  tormented  seas  during  the  southern 
summer.  Now  the  fact  is,  as  one  or  two  whaling 
expeditions  have  discovered  to  their  cost,  that  the 
sperm  wliale  is  never  found  south  of  the  Antarctic 
Cucle,  and  the  Right  Whale  hardly  ever.  These  two 
sjiecies,  practically  the  only  ones  commercially  valuable 
enough  to  warrant  the  outfitting  of  ships  for  an  ocean 
vcA'age  in  order  to  catch  them,  prefer  to  avoid  those 
stern  regions,  and  the  whales  seen  and  repeatedly 
logged  by  the  crews  of  the  '  Erebus  '  and  '  Terror  '  were 
I  if  a  totally  different  and  almost  valueless  species,  such 
as  no  ships  are  sent  long  voyages  after.  It  would  seem 
as  if  life  in  those  tremendous  regions  adjacent  to  the 
'■lernal  barrier  of  Antarctic  ice,  and  the  great  southern 
continent,  was  altogether  too  strenuous  for  a  leisurely 
monster  like  a  Right  Whale,  even  though  the  southern 
Mysticeius  is  so  much  smarter  both  in  appearance  and 
agility  than  his  great  northern  congener.  There,  where 
tlie  awful  sea  of  the  south,  unhindered  in  its  world- 


.2 


50    The  Mysticetus,  or  Right  Whale 

enp;irdiing  sweep,  makes  the  ice  islands  toss  and  whirl 
hkc  cliips  in  a  mill-race — wheri%  even  in  summer, 
the  weatlier  is  more  severe  than  in  our  worst  winters, 
and  gale  follows  gale  with  a  monotony  of  fury  tliat  is 
amazing;— there  is  no  place  for  either  men  or  animals 
except  those  fully  equipped  for,  and  indifferent  to,  the 
hardest  weather  on  our  planet. 

Little  more  remains  to  be  said  of  the  Mysticetus. 
In  gri  ator  measure  tlian  his  brother  of  the  north,  the 
Soutlnrii  Right  Whale  is  unmolested  ;  indeed,  it  is 
doubtful  wliether  a  dozen  individuals  are  taken  in  the 
course  of  a  ;  ^r,  and  those  more  by  accident  tlian 
design.  Consetjuently  their  numbers  are  increasing 
rapidly,  and  as  their  favourite  haunts  are  becoming  less 
and  less  disturbed  by  the  passage  of  ships  they  are 
gradually,  after  two  hundred  years  of  terror,  reverting 
to  their  primitive  condition  of  peaceful  seclusion  from 
all  foes  except  the  three  natural  ones  already  mentioned, 
so  that  in  a  few  j-cars  it  will  be  possible  to  sail,  if 
yachtsmen  are  venturous  enough,  into  gre  '  silent 
spaces  of  sea  embracing  many  thousands  o.  square 
miles  that  are  never  furrowed  by  any  ship's  keel,  where 
the  great  mammals  of  the  deep  sea  roam  in  immense 
herds  fearlessly,  because  all  unused  to  molestation,  and 
live  their  ordered,  happy  lives  out  to  iheir  full  extent 
without  anv  interference  from  man  whatever. 


1 


CHAPTER   IV 


THE    HUMPBACK    WHALE 

BEAUTIFUL  beyond  the  power  of  description,  the 
islands  of  the  Tonga  group  lay  set  in  a  sapphire 
sea  under  an  azure  sky  flooded  \v:  golden  sun- 
light ;  a  little  breeze  blew,  jusi  suflficient  to  raise  tiny 
wMvelets  fringed  with  snowy  foam  and  sparkling  as  if 
■^it  witli  millions  of  diamonds.  Over  the  fringing  coral 
barriers  they  curdled  with  a  drowsy  hum  as  of  infinite 
("iitriit,  as  if  they  knew  they  were  perfectly  beautiful 
and  perfectly  fulfilling  their  appointed  way.  Only  where 
the  prevailing  swell  ''.ime  thundering  shoreward,  fret- 
ting at  tinding  its  th.  j-thousand-mile  course  hindered, 
was  there  any  sign  of  the  stress  of  elemental  forces. 
There,  with  e^'ery  recurring  billow  as  it  reached  the  coral 
Iiarrier,  rose  a  long  thundering  roll  of  breakers  twenty 
feet  high,  dazzling  white  in  striking  contrast  to  their 
bases  of  deepest  blue,  and  looking  as  if  they  would 
overwhelm  the  whole  group  of  islands.  Higher  and 
lughtT  they  rose  until,  drooping,  dejected,  they  owned 
their  limitations  and  recoiled  hissing,  to  make  way  for 
the  next  arrival. 

Towards  this  fierce  barrier  there  hurried  nervously 
a  mother  Humpback  Whale.  She  was  of  moderate 
>!/e.  al)out  forty-five  feet  long  by  thirty  in  girth,  with 
ilattened  head  and  -nnuth  fringed  with  scanty  whale- 
b-ne.  On  her  bar  she  bore  a  dorsal  erection  like  a 
dumpy   fin,   when,e   the   trivial  name  *  Humpback.' 


-1 


2 


-  ae 


The  Humpback  Whale 


But  her  chie'f  visible  pculiarity  differentiating  her  from 
sperm  and  ri.eht  whales,  was  the  length  of  her  aims. 
Unlike  the  almost  rudimentary  pectoral  appendages  of 
the  cachalot  and  Mysticc/its,  her  arms  were  nearly  one- 
third  of  her  length,  justifying  the  Greek  title  bestowed 
upon  her  kind  of  'great  wings'  (mcgaptcra).  A  close 
observer,  had  any  such  been  at  hand,  would  have  noted 
that,  as  she  swam  str;ught  for  the  reefs,  she  kept  one  of 
these  long  arms  tightly  pressed  to  her  side,  as  if  holding 
sometliing  of  value.  Stay,  there  were  close  observers, 
hungry  denizens  of  the  deep  sea  following  her  and 
watching  with  ravenous  eyes.  They  knew  the  nature 
and  value  of  her  treasure,  and,  given  but  the  slightest 
opportunity,  would  have  despoiled  her  of  it.  Rut  she 
well  knew  both  of  their  unwelcome  presence  and  their 
sinister  designs,  and  sought  a  haven  of  safety  where 
they  dared  not  come. 

Close  to  her  side  she  hugged  her  newly  born  son,  a 
slender  dolphin-like  creature  about  nine  feet  in  length, 
full  of  vigour  and  impatience  of  restraint,  who  struggled 
iiercely  to  get  free.  Since  his  birth  she  had  not  known 
a  peaceful  moment,  for  the  Creator  had  endowed  her 
with  so  large  a  proportion  of  maternal  love  that  the 
mere  feeling  of  ought  happening  co  her  offspring  was 
agony  almost  imbearable  to  her,  while  at  the  same 
tune  instinct  warned  her  that  the  surrounding  sea 
simply  swarmed  with  hidden  enemies,  ready  at  any 
moment  to  deprive  her  of  the  joy  of  her  life  could  they 
but  find  her  momentarily  unwatchful.  Therefore  had 
she  forgotten  her  lord  and  leader,  her  fellow  mothers, 
herself,  all  her  being  was  centred  upon  the  young  one 
by  her  side  and  lunv  to  protect  it  from  death. 

Closely  escorted  by  at  least  half-a-dozen  immense 
sharks,  she  reached  the  I^arrier  Reef,  sounded,  and 
swam  along  its  base  until  she  came  to  an  opening  wide 


4 


■? 


I 


Delights  of  Motherhood         53 

enough  to  admit  her.  Slie  dashed  through  and  wound 
licr  way  among  the  ma/y  interstices  of  the  scattered 
reefs  inside  in  the  smootli  phicid  lagoon  until  she 
reached  a  sort  of  natural  little  dock,  where,  with  just 
sufficient  water  to  float  tliem,  slie  and  her  baby  miglit  lie 
in  perfect  peace  and  security  beyond  the  reach  of  those 
blood-thirsty  creatures  who  had  never  left  her  since  her 
little  one  came.  Sweet,  passing  sweet  it  was  to  lie  and 
bask  in  the  full  sun-glare,  to  feel  the  joyous  gambolling 
of  the  youngling  all  around  her,  varied  by  an  occa- 
sional tugging  at  her  bounteous  breast,  to  exhale  lazy 
spoutings  and  watch  the  pretty  tuft  of  vapour  from 
th^  spiracle  of  her  offspring,  to  lie,  in  short,  so  perfectly 
at  peace  as  to  forget  that  ever  a  danger  existed. 

One  drawback  there  was  which  she  hardlv  felt — the 
lack  of  food.  To  feed  it  was  necessary  for  her  to  go 
into  deeper  waters  and  that  she  dared  not  do  yet. 
I5ut  this  want,  in  spite  of  her  enormous  bulk,  troubled 
her  scarcely  at  all,  she  was  quite  content  to  starve 
awhile  for  the  sake  of  her  young  one,  who  she  knew 
would  gain  so  rapidly  in  vigour  every  day  spent  in  that 
calm  retreat  as  to  be  able,  before  her  supp'y  of  milk  ran 
short  through  lack  of  nourishment,  to  accompany  her 
far  enoagh  to  find  food  in  safety,  to  cruise  among  the 
islands  and  between  the  reefs  where  in  deep  water  she 
could  obtain  the  necessaries  of  life.  All  that,  however, 
was  matter  that  did  not  immediately  concern  her. 
For  the  time  she  was  supremely  happy  m  the  conscious- 
ness of  safety  for  her  young  one,  in  the  knowledge  that 
she  was  where  none  of  her  enemies  could  ever  come. 

Poor  thing,  the  limitations  of  her  instinctive  appre- 
hension of  danger  did  not,  could  not  warn  her  against 
man,  tlie  universal  destroyer,  man,  whose  skilful  hand, 
active  brain,  and  unscrupulous  ferocity  when  directed 
agamst  the  lower  animals,  makes  him  their  most  terrible 


•2g 

"  z 

to  S 


54  The  Humpback  Whale 

foe.  So  it  came  about  that  on  the  second  day,  just  as 
the  pearly  dawn  was  bn'al:ing  and  a  faint  bhisli  was 
tinging  the  summits  of  the  sombre  green  hills,  she  lay 
as  usual  peacefully  giving  suck  to  her  youngling,  while 
the  cool  dimples  of  the  water  softly  laved  the  happy 
pair.  Suddenly  she  became  conscious  of  the  close 
proximity  of  danger,  stiffened  all  her  muscles  while  her 
tail  vibrated  slowly  and  her  long  arms  reached  out  in 
agitated  fashion  to  draw  the  young  one  into  her  side 
for  shelter.  Too  late  ;  a  glittering  harpoon  flew  ovtr 
her  back,  aimed  at  her,  but  missing  its  mark  and 
transfixing  the  calf,  which  instantly  died. 

By  some  strange  process  of  deduction,  quick  as 

thought,  she  knew  the  full  extent  of  the  calamity  which 

had  befallen  her,  and  raising  her  mighty  tail  on  high 

made  sea  and  shore  resound  with  the  thunder  of  her 

blows.     So  sudden  was  her  transition  from  utter  peace 

to  the  intensest  fury  of  reveuf,  ,  that  the  crew  of  the 

boat  which  had  stolen  up  behind  her  through  the  narrow 

reef  channel  had  no  time  to  retreat.     Bewildered  by  the 

rapidity  and  violence  of  the  blows,  and  blinded  by  the 

spray,  they  leapt  overboard  and  climbed  with  torn 

hands  and  feet  up  the  jagged  surface  of  the  reef,  only 

about  two  feet  under  water.     There  they  were  safe 

from  the  whale,  but  in  imminent  danger  should  the  sea 

rise  of  being  dashed  to  fragments  upon  those  myriad 

needlepoints   of    coral.     Fearfully    they   beheld    their 

infuriated  victim  frantically  dashing  their  devoted  boat 

into  minute  fragments,  pausing  momentarily  at  short 

intervals  as  if  to  listen  for  their  whereabouts,  if  haply 

she  might  by  any  means  compass  their  destruction  also. 

Finally,  after  an  exhibition  of  power  and  ferocity 

amazing  to  witness  in  one  habitually  so  gentle,  one  also 

who  would  suffer  her  last  drop  of  lilood  to  be  drained 

rather  than  retaliate  while  her  calf  was  alive,  in  case 


I 


■^ 


Retribution 


55 


.s 

if 


4 


she  slionld  accidentally  do  it  any  injury,  she  slowly 
nil!!'  (1  round  and  headed  seaward,  stopping  every  few 
yards  as  if  most  reluctant  to  quit  the  scene  of  her  loss, 
and  manifesting  in  every  movement  the  acutest  grief 
at  her  great  bereavement.  At  last,  with  accelerated 
spoid,  she  left  the  reef  and  made  for  the  open  sea,  where 
slu-  speedily  rejoined  tlie  school  she  had  left  and  com- 
nuimcated  to  tliem  the  fact  of  her  great  sorrow  and  its 
attendant  circumstances.  I  cannot  actually  say  that 
she  received  their  condolences,  but  I  am  absolutely 
certain  that  all  took  solemn  warning  by  her  calamity, 
and  as  the  best  preventive  against  any  simihir  accident 
to  tin  nisolves  all  the  prospective  mothers  determined 
to  a\oid  the  Tonga  group  as  a  place  of  refuge.  But 
as  it  was  a  splendid  feeding  ground,  they  remained  in 
Its  inuncdiate  vicinity,  sometimes  cruising  among  the 
reefs  and  between  the  islands  for  the  shoals  of  small  fish 
and  molluscs  abundant  there. 

( )ne  day  the  youngest  bull  of  the  party  was  suddenly 
attarked  in  the  same  mysttTious  manner  as  the  hapless 
mother  had  been.  But  it  was  where  tlie  steep  shores  of 
the  main  island  shelved  away  abruptly  into  a  depth  of 
a  thousand  fathoms,  and  tliat  young  bull,  as  soon  as  he 
fill  the  goad,  inverted  his  body  and  plunged  for  tlic 
deptiis  at  a  most  terrific  pace.  The  men  in  the  boat 
above,  realising  too  late  that  their  victim  was  of  the 
wrong  sex  and,  moreover,  was  in  the  wrong  pkice  for 
tinm,  just  held  themselves  clear  of  the  liissing  line, 
whi.h  in  two  minutes  had  run  out  the  whole  length  of 
it-  three  hundred  fathoms  and  disappeared  with  a  snap 
hke  a  stockman's  whip. 

The  youngster,  galled  unbearably,  and  unable  to 
tell  what  had  happened  to  him,  went  at  top  speed  as 
deep  as  a  whale  may,  that  is,  to  about  five  hundred 
fatlioms,  then  essayed  to  rise  to  the  surface  once  more. 


'3 

■■  z 

t.:  O 

■  < 

5* 


Mi; 


56  The  Humpback  Whale 

Rut  spent  with  his  tremendous  downward  rush,  and 
held  down  hy  tlie  great  weight  of  the  rope  he  was 
dragging  against  tlie  water,  his  struggles  became  fainter 
and  feebler,  until  at  last,  with  a  sudden  collapse  of  his 
great  heart,  his  struggles  ceased,  and  turning  over 
he  slowly  sank,  already  the  prey  of  innumerable  sea- 
scavengers,  attracted  to  the  spot  by  their  infallible 
instinct  warning  them  of  the  presence  of  their  par- 
ticular form  of  food.  So  died  this  promising  young 
bull  needlessly,  since  he  could  not  by  any  possibility 
have  been  caught  in  those  deep  waters,  and  should 
never  have  been  attacked. 

But  perhaps  it  is  wrong  of  me  to  give  these  two  sad 
misfortunes  forward  first,  as  if  they  were  typical  of  the 
daily  life  of  tlie  Humpback.     Notliing  could  well  be 
more  untrue  than  such  a  suggestion.     There  be  few 
creatures  in  earth,  air,  or  sea,  that  lead  a  happier  life, 
or  enjoy  it  with  a  greater  zest  tlian  the  Humpback. 
In  the  pleasant  waters  where  tliey  roam,  that  is  to  say, 
practically  all  round  the  world  between  20°  N.   and 
40°  S.,  wherever  there  is  sea  to  swim  in  there  is  almost 
always  abundant  food.  They  are  not  so  restricted  either 
in  their  dietary  as  their  cousins,  the  right  whales.   Quite 
sizeable  fish,  and  cuttles  of  all  kinds  up  to  eight  or  ten 
pounds  in  wciglit,  form  their  staple  support.     They  are 
fond,  too,  of  sliowmg  their  joy  in  life,  like  the  porpoise. 
They  indulge  in  titanic  gambols  whicli  lill  the  spectator 
with  amazement,  as  he  watches  them  roll  and  leap  and 
prance  about  the  so;i-surface  as  if  they  only  weighed 
as  many  ounces  as  they  do  tons.     There  are  few  more 
interesting  and  pretty  sights  than  to  watch  a  family 
of  Humpbacks,  bull,  cows,  and  calves,  all  engaged  in 
their  play,  the  great  leader  vying  with  his  youngest 
consort  or  her  tiny  calf  in  his  ehorts  to  show  by  his 
sportiveness  how  very  happy  he  is. 


The  Drawbacks  of  Ease        57 


True,  tlicir  enemies,  which  are  practically  the  same 
;m  those'  of  the  right  whale,  do  occasionally  overtake 
Imd  (k'strov  them  ;    but  unlike  their  gigantic  cousins, 
thev  have  great  speed  and  agility,  and  consequently 
;ire  far  better  able  to  defend  themselves,  to  do  so,  in 
f  irt,  most  successfully  in  numbers  of  cases.     Like  tlie 
i-h't  whales,  too,  like  all  whales,   in  fact,  they  are 
^rl'vouslv  afflicted  by  many  parasites,  and  it  has  even 
been  suggested  that  their  almost  frantic  gambols  are 
indulged  in  in  the  hope  of  ridding  their  s'   n-  of  these 
irritating  hangers-on.    But  that  I  do  not  believe.    W  hen 
the  Humpback  finds  his  load  of  barnacles,  hmpets, 
and  slimy  sea-grass  unbearable,  he  hies  him  to  the 
nearest  rocky  bottom  of  coral  reef,  and  there  drags  his 
vast  body  slowly  to  and  fro  over  the  spiky  surface. 
rhaling  off  a  great  number  of  his  unwelcome  guests  and 
no  doubt  experiencing  many  a  delicious  thrill  from  that 
superlative  scratching  while  doing  so. 

In  one  particular,  however,  he  is  handicapped  m 
gittiiig    rid   of   his   parasites.     His   belly   blubber   is 
divided  into  longitudinal  folds,  or  rugx,  lying  closely 
and  tightly  together,  and  with  a  depth  in  these  grooves 
of  over  a  couple  of  inches.     Limpets  breed  in  these  snug 
pl;u  L's,  and  there,  secure  from  dislodgment,  since  the 
folds  cling  so  tightly  together  that  the  hand  can  hardly 
be  forced  between  them,  they  reach  a  size  unknow 
elsewhere.     I  have  repeatedly  seen  limpets  as  large  as 
a  liorse's  hoof  in  the  rugosities  of  a  Humpback's  belly. 
But  these,  after  all,  are  minor  evils,  not  for  one  momeiit 
to  be  weighed  against  the  many  joys  of  the  Humpback's 
life.     Amiable,    fondest   of   parents,   content   to   play 
about  the  benitiful  shores  of  the  most  beautiful  islands 
in  the  world,  and  immune  from  the  attack  of  man 
everywhere,  except    among   the   shallow   reefs,  when 
tlie  "mothers  seek  them  for  protection.     Even  that 


I* 


58  The  Humpback  Whale 

dancjer  is  now  almost  non-existent,  for  reasons  given 
before. 

So  tliat  the  joyous  Humpback  is  practically  free 
to  enjoy  liis  life,  to  eat  and  love  and  play  in  the  vastest 
play^Tound  given  by  God.  Even  those  ills  to  whicli  he 
is  in(>vitably  subject  trouble  him  not  at  all  btforchand  ; 
like  the  rest  of  the  humbler  creation,  although  lie  knows 
fear,  he  knows  not  anticipation.  For  him  the  inunedi- 
ate  present  is  his  all,  whether  it  be  of  pain  or  pleasure  ; 
and  it  is  pleasant  to  remember  tliat  his  pleasures  out- 
number his  p.iins  by  at  least  a  thousand  to  one.  In 
concluding  tliis  brief  sketch  of  the  Humpback's  :fe, 
I  would  explain  tliat  where  any  apparently  essential 
details  are  omitttnl,  it  may  be  understood  that  they 
are  substantially  th(>  same  for  the  Humpback  as  for  the 
right  whale,  previously  described  ;  the  important 
differences  of  habit  have,  I  think,  all  been  fully  dealt 
with. 


CHAPTER   V 
THE    RORQUALS 


THIS  enormous  class  of  whales,  embracinj?  many 
varieties,  is  often  held  by  whalemen  to  include  all 
whales  that  are  unfit  for  merch.ant's  purposes  by 
reason  of  their  scantiness  of  blubber  or  overcoating  of 
fat,  the  absence  of  marketable  baleen  or  whalebone, 
and  lastly  their  exceeding  speed  and  agility,  rendering 
them  practically  uncatchable.  This  distinction  has  the 
merit  of  being  entirely  unscientific,  yet  near  enough  to 
the  truth  to  be  easily  understanded  of  the  people  to 
whom  the  cumbrously  minute,  yet  entirely  necessary, 
dt  linitions  of  science  are  so  repugnant. 

The  study  of  whales,  or  cetology,  is  a  most  fas- 
cinating one,  as  indeed,  I  think,  is  all  study  dealing 
with  the  fauna  of  the  deep  sea,  but  in  the  very  nature 
of  tiie  things  is  so  difficult  to  attain  to  any  degree  of 
accuracy  in,  that  it  is  simply  pedantic,  in  writing  on  it 
for  popular  reading,  to  speak  in  terms  of  an  exact 
knowledge  concerning  a  creature  of  whom  we  can 
only  see  passing  glimpses  during  life,  and  who  when 
dead  becomes  corrupt  so  quickly,  and  to  so  great  an 
extent,  that  he  is  an  intolerable  and  pestilential 
nuisance  at  once. 

In  the  three  great  classes  of  which  I  have  already 
spoken,  there  is  some  approach  on  the  part  of  those 
who  have  hunted  them,  like  myself,  to  actual  know- 
ledge of  their  mode  of  life,  their  habits  and  customs ; 


6o 


The  Rorquals 


but  in  the  Rorquals  this  advantage  disappears  almost 
entirely.  For,  iwcipt  in  certain  places  and  under 
certain  conditions,  such  as  obtained  on  the  coasts  of 
Newfoundland,  Labrador,  and  Norway,  the  Rorqual 
is  not,  cannot  be,  hunted  successfully.  And  so  there 
are  proportionately  less  opportunities  for  observing 
tl-  clippers  of  the  whale  tribe,  which  are  to  be  found 
in  ume  of  their  varieties  in  every  sea  beneath  the  sky. 
Nevertheless,  owing  to  the  fact  that  instinct  li.is  taught 
the  Rorqual  that  he  has  nothing  to  fear  from  ships, 
it  is  possible  occasionally  for  a  patient  observer  on 
board  a  sailing  ship  to  have  a  fairly  long  opportunity 
of  noting  the  behaviour  of  Rorquals. 

One  thing  is  exceedingly  noticeable  about  them, 
their  solitary  proclivities.  During  my  wanderings 
over  all  the  seas,  I  have  never  seen  more  thar.  two 
Rorquals  together,  and  that  on  only  three  occa'^ions. 
Nearly  always  it  is  one  that  comes  from  out  of  the 
great  void,  and,  as  if  feeling  his  loneliness,  makes  fr.ends 
with  the  becalmed  ship  and  remains  constantly  atten- 
dant upon  her,  until  an  upspringing  breeze  hurries  her 
away.  I  well  remember  the  awe  and  fascination  that 
one  of  these  monsters  bred  in  me  during  my  first  East 
Indian  voyage.  It  was  in  the  Indian  Ocean,  near  the 
Equator,  and  on  one  lovely  but  moonless  night  I  was 
lolling  over  the  rail  during  a  stark  calm,  gazing  into 
the  inscrutable  depths  below,  where  occasional  flashes 
of  green  light  made  the  surrounding  darkness  more 
impressive.  Dimly  I  wondered  what  those  lights  were, 
and  why  they  shone,  when  presently  I  became  aware 
of  a  great  glare  far  down,  which  was  slowly  brightening 
as  it  neared  the  surface.  As  it  rose  higher  and  higher 
I  saw  that  the  centre  of  this  brilliancy  was  a  long  black 
oval  growing  larger  and  larger.  And  presently, 
paralysing  me  with  fright,  the  rising  mass  broke  the 


A   Mighty  Visitor 


Gi 


si.rfacc,  there  was  a  sound  liko  a  million  sif^lis  roll  \ 
into  one,  and  a  roliimn  of  vapour  ro  iu  t,'lio>tly  fa>luon 
^i-iiii^t  tlu'  dt'op  violet  of  tiie  sky.  Tiim,  though  mv 
li'  lit  -^till  thumped  violently,  I  recognis.  J  a  while 
;iiul  was  somewhat  comforted. 

Still  I  had  my  doubts  of  his  intentions  ;   he  was  far 
tno  near,  about  four  *■  -et  from  our  side,  to  be  jiloasant 
I'.-mp.ny.     What  if  he  should  suddenly  object  to  our 
prsenr-e    there    and    assault    us    lurioinly  .^     And    I 
thought,  with  the  Cfld  fear  curdlu.-  my  youuf,'  blood, 
of  the  awful  depths  beneath  us,   separated  from  us 
')iily  by  two  or  three  inches  of  soft  pine  plank.     I  did 
not  know  then  how  sociable  and  good-natured  is  the 
'Finl.ack,'  one  of  the  best  known  of  the  great  Ronpial 
family,  one  also  who,  like  the  sperm  whale,  but  with 
even  a  greater  range,  may  be  found  in  nearlv   all  the 
navigable  seas  of  the  world.     For  so.ue  few  minutes 
after  rising  he  lay  leisurely  by  the  ship's  side  appar- 
ently  considering    her    appearane  •    and    occasionally 
spouting  softly.     Then  he  slowly  settled  down,   and 
presently  the  whole  ship  vibr.  ted  as  if  grating  over 
rocks,  but  with  far  less  violence.     And  j    ering  over 
one  .side  from  the  main  vard-arm  I    aw  the  halo  round 
our  visitor  glowing  ben.  ith    .ur  keel,  and  realised  that 
he  was  rubbing  himself  against  us,  as  cattle  rub  against 
a  fence.     The  calm  lasted  with  ,>rief  intervals  of  light 
airs  from  all  quarters  for  four  days,  during  the  whole 
of  winch  our  visitor  never  left  us.     Fasting  too,  as  far 
as  we  could  see,  although  it  is  hardly  safe  to  say  that 
nothing  entered  that  capacious  throat  of  his,  because 
wc  could  not  see  it.     But  we  had  splendid  opportunity 
for  observing  his  every  movement,  the  exercise  of  all 
his  powers,  as  closely  as  if  he  had  been  cased  in  an 
aqirium  and  we  just  standing  peering  through  the 
glass. 


en 


3 


«3  as 


..-Xnj 


62 


The   Rorquals 


Manv  timns  sinro  I  hnvo  had  opportunitio'>  of 
watcliin<^,  not  only  tlie  Finbark,  but  otluT  Ronpials 
in  all  parts  of  the  world  from  this  well-known  habit 
of  theirs  of  consorting  with  becalmod  vessels,  but  never 
better  than  on  that  early  and  well-remembered  occa- 
sion. Yet,  strange  to  say,  I  have  never  seen  a  Rorqual 
calf,  nor  have  I  ever  met  a  whaleman  who  has.  Whether 
some  deep  maternal  instinct  warns  the  Rorqu.d  cow 
that  at  such  a  time  she  cannot  exercise  her  normal 
powers  of  flight  in  case  of  aggression,  or  what  it  is,  I 
do  not  know.  But  I  believe  that  slie  does  have  an 
instinctive  desire  to  hide  herself  during  the  time  of 
nursing,  and  succeeds  in  so  doing. 

Fortunately  for  the  Rorquals  they  are  far  less 
valuable  commercially  than  any  other  whale.  Tlieir 
blubber  is  very  thin,  their  baleen  very  scanty,  and  as 
I  have  before  noted,  their  strength  and  agility  are  such 
that,  except  under  such  conditions  as  obtain  in  the 
fishery  of  the  places  I  have  mentioned,  it  is  almost 
impossible  to  kill  and  secure  them.  I  couple  the  two 
terms  because  the  Rorquals  almost  invariably  sink  as 
soon  as  dead,  and  in  deep  water  such  a  habit  is  fatal 
to  any  chance  of  securing  them.  A  sink  ng  whale 
cannot  be  stopped  from  doing  so  by  any  me;  ns  known 
or  available  to  wnale-fishers.  Not  only  have  they 
these  commercial  drawbacks,  but  living  advantages, 
for  the  resultant  oil  is  exceedingly  poor  in  quality  and 
low  in  price. 

Yet  the  thrifty,  hard- bitten  Norwegians,  able  to 
wrench  a  living  from  their  iron-bound  shores  where 
men  of  lesser  endurance,  strength,  and  perseverance 
must  inevitably  starve,  have  devised  a  way  of  capturing 
and  making  commercial  use  of  the  Rorqual.  It  is 
brutal  and  utterly  unsportsiuanlike,  but  one  cannot 
consider  the  claims  of  sport  v/here  hungry  mouths  are 


Whaling  for   Bread 


63 


(linionrini^  for  broad.  Briefly,  small  stramors,  like 
the  'jackal'  tiig-ho.its  of  tlu'  Thames,  of  full  piower 
and  ^'()(id  sca-i-nduranee,  are  fitted  out.  In  the  bows 
tli'V  carry  a  cannon  designed  to  fire  a  massive  harpoon 
iMsti  id  of  a  shot  or  shell.  To  the  harpoon  is  attached 
a  stout  rope,  far  stouter  tlian  ordinary  whale-line, 
which  is  one  and  a  half  inclies  in  girth.  A  powerful 
steam  windlass  is  fitted  in  the  bows  also.  When  the 
signal  comes  from  the  watchers  on  the  hills  that  whales 
are  near,  the  steamer  slips  her  moorings,  where  she  has 
\h\'n  lying  with  banked  fires,  and  puts  out  to  sea, 
guided  by  certain  flag  directions  from  the  headland 
where  the  look-out  is  stationed.  Presently  coming 
up  with  the  whale,  who  is  quietly  guli)ing  down  a 
multitude  of  cod  and  other  succulent  dainties  of  a 
Iwhv  nature,  the  gun  is  fired,  tlie  great  harpoon  buries 
Itself  in  the  quivering  body  of  the  monster,  sometimes 
indeed  with  a  small  bomb  in  its  head.  He  plunges 
seaward,  dragging  the  steamer  after  him  and  severely 
testing  the  value  of  harpoon  and  line.  But,  as  a  rule, 
with  scarcely  any  exception,  once  the  ha-poon  has 
found  its  mark  the  fate  of  that  Rorqual  is  sealed.  The 
wound  is  so  deep,  the  strain  is  so  great,  that  in  a  short 
time  he  succumbs  and  sinks  dead. 

The  water  is  not  very  deep,  so,  although  he  must 
needs  be  allowed  to  sink  while  he  is  sinking,  he  i^  no 
so(,ner  at  the  bottom  than  the  windlass  is  started  and 
the  great  body  begins  to  rise  again.  As  soon  as  it  is 
at  the  surface,  measures  are  taken  to  secure  it  by  the 
I'ead  for  towing,  and  off  goes  the  steamer  harbourwards, 
(ir.i-'ing  her  giant  quarry.  Arriving  at  her  station, 
the  huge  carcase  is  handed  over  to  eager  butchers  and 
bniUrs,  who  not  only  strip  off  the  blubber,  rip  out  the 
scanty  baleen,  and  tear  every  vestige  of  fat  from  within 
to  swell  the  tale  of  oU  barrels,  but  even  chop  up  the 


■5 1 


2 


-  % 


I 


64 


The  Rorquals 


bones  and  stack  them  after  boiling  for  transportation 
as  manure.  Tlie  living  thus  gained  is  precarious  and 
poor,  subject  to  frightful  perils  and  no  recognition 
but  It  is  not  quite  so  had  as  the  similar  industry  carried 
on  across  the  Atlantic,  by  the  tremendously  handi- 
ccipped  citizens  of  Newfoundland  and  Labrador 
Hou-ever,  enough  of  this  ^shery,  which  I  have  on'v 
brietly  allud.J  tc,  to  show  the  one  way  in  which  the 
Rorqual  is  molested  by  man. 

One  species  of  Ron.ual  {Balacnoptcra  sihhaldii  sul- 
fhurcous)  has  the  distinction  of  being  the  longest  of  all 
species  of  whale.     The  whalemen  call  it  the  'Sulphur 
Bottom,'  all  tiie  underpart  of  the  body  being  of  a  bright 
yellow.     It  IS  a  harmless,  amiable  monster,  following 
the  usual  (nistom  among  giants,  notable  as  being  always 
more  docile  than  lesser  folk.     But  its  terrilic  capa- 
bilities in  the  way  ot  speed  cause  it  to  be  left  severely   • 
alone  by  whale  hsliers,  and  consequently  it  is  fairly 
plentiful     and    attains    its    extraordinary    length    ol    ' 
sometimes  one  hundred  and  hfty  feet.     It  has  another   ' 
pecaiharity  differentiating  it  from  all  other  whales— the   • 
height  of  Its  spout.     Optical  illusion  and  the  angle  of  ' 
vision  may  possibly  vitiate  my  statement,  but  I  fpel 
sure  I  have  seen  a  Sulphur  Bottom  spout  as  high  as 
our  main  j-ard,  forty  feet.     These  are  the  free  lances 
of  the  sea.     x\  one  molest  them  ;  even  from  the  spiteful 
attack  of  the  grampus  or  Orca  they  are  free— no  Ora 
would  dare  attempt  an  attack  upon  so  swift  an  animal. 
But   the   chief   characteristic   of   these  great   sea- 
mammals  (the  Rorquals  generally)  is  their  omnivorous- 
ness  with  regard  to  hsh.     As  long  as  tley  confine  their 
attentions  to  such  wonderful  deep-water  nurseries  of 
cdule  fish  for  man  as  the  Newfoundland  Banks,  the 
Agulhas  Banks  (off  the  Cape  of  Good  /Tope)  and  the 
Rockall  Bank,  fisliermen  only  feel  slightly  aggrieved. 


.-: 


The  All-Devouring  Rorqual      65 

They  know  <hat  the  harvest  of  the  sea  is  so  abundant 
so  entire!-  fitted  for  all  the  varied  needs  of  its  popa- 
lation,  that  the  surplus  which  man  may  dip  into 
without  any  fear  of  diminishing  the  supply  by  one 
scale  IS  always  there,  that  no  danger  of  exiiaustion  is 
ever  likely  to  arise  at  sea,  whatever  may  be  the  case 
ashore.  Yet  their  complacency  receives  a  severe  shock 
when  Rorquals  are  found  haunting  the  Channel  of  Old 
England,  and  the  Irish  and  North  Seas  during  the 
herring  and  mackerel  seasons,  relays  of  fish-devouring 
.'Milts  whose  appetite  is  insatiable,  whose  digestion  is 
that  of  a  flour  mill.  Then  do  the  fishermen  wail.  Is 
It  to  be  wondered  at  ? 

Patrolling  with  perfect  ease  those  prolific  coasts,  the 
Ivnniiial  calmly  swims  through  thousands  of  pounds' 
we.rth  of  nets,  shovelling  down  into  his  vast  maw  boat- 
loads  of   herrings    or   mackerel    at   each   gulp      The 
go.samer  of  the  nets  he  does  r,  A  heed,  they  do  not 
even  annoy  him,  so  slight  and  trivial  are  they.     So  his 
api)etite  growing  by  what  it  feeds  upon,  this  mighty 
'Kni.en  of  the  deep  sea  comfortably  wallows  in  the 
^^hailous  rear  our  shores,  feeding,  ever  feeding,  upon 
the  countless  myriar'.s  of  fish  which  should  have  been 
awaiting  tlie  fishermen,  but  are,  by  reason  of  this  awful 
viMt  iiion  among  them,  driven  into  deeper  wat-rs  and 
^!>!  iller  companies  to  avoid  him.     Meanwhile  he,  the 
subject  of  our  interest,  enjoys  himself,  all  unknowing 
and  unheeding  of  the  maledictions  of  the  fishermen 
and  tlie  panic  of  the  fish,  devouring  continually,  always 
' ;'"|.r>-  and  always  eating,  until  change  of  season  sends 
"^  iHTnng  or  mackerel  to  sea  again,  and  he  must  needs 
>"''^'w  or  pursue  some  new  line  of  food-procuring  •   they 
are  all  well  known  to  this  deep-sea  denizen. 

It  would  be  a  comparativelv  easy  task,  but  I  feel 
one  that  would  not  be  received  uith  any  enthusiasm. 


5« 


o  a: 


Vt 


66 


The   Rorquals 


to  prolong  this  section  almost  indefinitely,  for  leally 
there  are  so  many  kinds  of  whales,  each  with  well- 
defined  peculiarities,  and  m.ethods  of  li\ing  that  are 
interesting  to  note,  that  a  very  big  book  might  be 
written  about  them  alone. 

But  I  have  to  remember  that  there  are  very  many 
other  deep-sea  people  claiming  notice,  and  consequently 
must  be  as  brief  as  I  can  in  dealing  with  those  I  have 
left  to  the  tail  of  this  Rorqual  section.  The  smaller 
Rorquals,  such  as  th3  Bottle  Nose  (how  is  it,  I  wonder, 
that  so  many  landsmen  seem  to  have  a  nodding  ac- 
quaintance with  the  Bottle  Nose  Whale  ?  Perhaps 
because  captains  generally,  upon  a  whale  being  sighted, 
and  a  passenger  asking  its  name,  usually  reply  non- 
chalantly, 'Oh,  that's  a  Bottle  Nose'),  the  curious 
Beluga  or  white  whale  which  furnishes  our  'porpoise ' 
hide  boots  and  boot-laces,  the  ca-aing  whale,  the 
porpoises,  the  dolphins  (Dclphinidae),  each  and  every 
one  of  these  has  a  family  history  of  its  own,  very 
interesting  to  read  ;  but  one  may  have  too  njich  of 
cetology,  if  so  undignified  a  chat  as  mine  about  theu"' 
can  be  dignified  by  so  stately  a  title.  Therefore  I 
will  only  make  a  few  references  to  some  of  the  smaller 
whales  by  way  of  amends  to  them  for  devoting  so  much 
time  to  their  gigantic  relatives,  before  passing  on  to 
another  great  division  of  the  population  of  the  sea. 

Who  that  has  ever  been  a  sea  passage,  however 
short,  and  kept  his  eyes  open  to  his  surroundings,  has 
not  seen  a  Dolphin,  or  r.;ore  likely  many  of  these 
interesting  little  whales,  which  in  some  branch  of  their 
enormous  family  have  the  widest  sea  range  of  any  of 
the  cetacea  ?  And  not  only  sea-range,  but  in  spite 
of  the  fact  that  tliey  are  true  denizens  of  salt  water, 
are  continually  found  far  inland  preying  upon  the  finny 
population  of  rivers,  and  in  a  few  cases  presenting  us 


W 


The  'Happy'  Whales  67 


i 


with  the  only  vegetarian  examples  that  we  nave  nmong 
the  sea-folk  except  some  turtles  and  that  strange 
monster  tlie  sea-cow.  But  few  people  outside  the  ranks 
of  scientitic  naturalists  have  any  idea  of  the  great 
number  of  varieties  there  are  among  the  Dolphin.  It  is 
probable  that  in  their  zeal  for  minute  classifications, 
naturalists  have  named  many  as  distinct  species  which 
were  really  the  same  but  having  slight  variations  in 
form,  colour,  or  even  structure,  due  merely  to  Nature's 
abhorrence  to  turn  out  two  exact  copies  of  the  same 
creature. 

Wlien  due  allowance  is  made  for  ibis,  however,  it 
remains  certain  that  there  are  at  least  forty  different 
i^ecies  of  Dolphin,  subdivided  from  nineteen  genera, 
ranging  from  the  Orca,  or  grampus,  of  twenty  feet  long 
down  to  the  little  porpoises  of  the  Eastern  seas,  with 
a  maximum  length  of  four  feet,  and  rejoicing  in  a 
scientific  designation  of  extraordinary  proportions. 
M(jst  of  them,  however,  are  known  to  seafarers  by  the 
generic  name  of  Porpoises,  with  the  certain  exceptions 
of  the  killers,  the  white  whales  (Beluga),  narwhals,  and 
Black  Fish.  For  the  seafarer  has  a  curious  rooted 
exception  to  calling  what  he  considers  a  Porpoise  a 
Dolphin,  many  generations  of  use  having  fastened 
the  latter  name  upon  the  beautiful  Coryphcena,  of 
whom  much  by-and-by. 

These  diminutive  whales  are  decidedly  of  intense 
interest  to  naturalists,  as  it  is  possible  to  keep  them 
in  captivity  and  study  their  habits.  Moreover,  in  a 
slow-going  ship  one  may  spend  many  a  pleasant  hour 
watehing  them  as  they  gambol  about  the  bows  keeping 
her  strict  company.  Their  motions  are  probably  more 
gniceful  than  that  of  any  living  thing,  wliile  their 
activity  is  astounding.  No  otlicr  creature  would  seem 
to  liavc  so  much  suporabimdant  vitality  to  throw  off 


9 


~j  CO 

,  > 

12  = 


I 


68 


The   Rorquals 


or  to  be  so  filled  to  overflowing  with  the  sheer  delight 
of  living.     Rest  seems  impossible  to  them,  and  thef 


fore,  while 


ift 


A 


foui 


to  sixteer 


steami 
knots  will  soon  lose  their  company,  a  vessel  going  only 
four  or  five  will  not  keep  it  long,  the  onr  because  it 
is  impossible  for  thorn  to  continue  playing  their  pi  ,mks 
around  and  about  iicr  at  that  speed  for  more  than  a 
few  minutes,  the  other  because  she  does  noi  permit 
them  to  get  as  much  exercise  as  they  nee<'  A  speed 
of  six  to  ten  knots  suits  them  very  well,  .w.  1  I  know 
of  few  prettier  sights  than,  when  going  at  that  spec 
on  a  clear  moonless  night,  is  afforded  by  a  troop  of 
these  agile  cetacea  gambolling  under  tlic  bows  in  mazy 
whirls  of  glowing  green  light,  or  spreading  out  fa^.-wise 
in  broad  bands  of  lambent  flame  as  they  ru-  i  towards 
the  horizon  and  in  a  minute  or  two  converge  upon 
the  ship  again  like  a  series  of  blazin,  torpedo(  bent 
upon  her  destruction. 

They  seem,  more  perhaps  than  any  other  of  the 
sea-folk,  to  have  a  wonderful  prescience  as  to  the 
weather.  This  peculiarity  is  noticed  in  Shakespeare 
{Pericles,  Act  ii.,  Scene  i). 

yd  Fisherman  :  '  Nay,  master,  said  I  not  as  much, 
when  I  saw  the  Porpus  how  he  bounced  and  tumbled  ? 
They  say  they  are  half-fish,  half-flesh  ;  a  plague  on 
them  !    they  ne'er  come  but  I  look  to  be  washed.' 

All  seamen  realise  that  the  abnormal  activity  of  a 
creature  always  extraordinarily  active  presages  a  storm  ; 
indeed,  it  would  be  impossible  to  pass  the  matt^ 
without  notice.  To  see  a  school  of  Porpoises  some 
thousands  strong  rushing  at  amazing  speed  across 
the  foaming  sea  with  a  roar  like  that  of  billows  breaking 
upon  a  reef  during  a  landward  gale,  and  to  notice  that, 
even  in  that  mad  and  apparently  objeelless  race,  in- 
dividuals are  here  and  there  hurling  their  quivering 


Amenities  of  Porpoise  Life      6g 

I),  ^ics  twenty  feet  into  the  air,  as  if  it  were  impossible 
tor  t'lem  to  be  violent  enough  in  their  exercise,  is  to 
tV,  1,  no  matter  liow  cl  ;I1  one  may  be,  that  something 
out  of  the  rommun  must  be  going  to  happen.     The 
Mieory  of  some  great  enemy  being  in  pursuit  is  un- 
t.nubU.  for  these  stupen'lous  stampedes  are  always 
suc«;eeded  after  a  few  minu    s  by  a  like  period  of  steady 
easy-goini:,  except  that  here  and  there  some  excited 
meml    r  of  the  family  will  be  seen  indulging  in  a  solitary 
li    p  or  so.     Then  there  will  be  another  race,  and  so  on. 
Life  is  pleasant  for  the  Dolphin  in  all  his  varieties. 
Th(     mazing  fee  andity  of  the  sea  supplies  abundant 
food     fish  of  many  sorts  and  the  smaller  cuttle-fish 
being  obtainable  in  vast  numbers  wherever  the  Dolphin 
fpquein,   from   Antarctica   to  Jan   Mayen.     Enemies 
they  have,  of  course  ;   as  we  descend  the  scale  of  size 
we  find  the  struggle  of  life  grows  fiercer,  but  they  are 
far  better  off  than  the  My^ticciae.     For  their  vicious 
relative  the  -ranipus  must  put  on  top  speed  to  catch 
them,  as  must  also  the  sword-fish,  except  in  the  case  of 
cow  i^orpoises  with  young.     Like  the  humpbacks  and 
Rorquals  generally,  they  are  devoted  parents,  taking 
the  utmost  rare  of  their  young,  and  defending  them  at 
cost  of  their  own  lives.     The  young  are  very  docile- 
many  times  it  has  been  only  by  the  closest  observation 
tliat  I  have  detected  the  tiny  calf,  looking  not  much 
bigger  than  a  large  trout,  apparently  glued  on  to  the 
side  of  its  mother,  so  closely  did  it  follow  her  every 
movement,  however  rapid  and  erratic. 

One  habit  obtains  among  the  smaller  Dolphins 
which  is  not  practised  by  any  other  of  the  cetacea.  It 
is  the  cannibalistic  one  of  immediately  tearing  in  pieces 
and  devouring  any  e  ic  of  their  number  which  happens 
to  get  wounded.  Many  a  time  have  I  seen  one  slip  off 
the  liarpoon,  with  a  great  rent  in  his  side  from  which 


ft:  3 


^5 


70 


The   Rorquals 


the  blood  was  spirting  in  jets.  Immediately  the  vhole 
school  would  close  in  upon  him,  rending  him  with  their 
keenly  armed  jaws  until  in  a  few  moiaents  there  was 
no  trace  of  him  to  be  stcn  ;  the  disrobed  skeleton  had 
sunk,  to  be  finally  polislied  by  the  minute  scavengers 
of  the  sea  ore  its  deposit  on  the  silent  mysterious  floor 
of  the  ocean. 

They  are  of  little  value  commercially,  owing  to  the 
small  amount  of  blubber  they  carry,  although  there  is 
a  legend  among  whalemen  of  the  oil  from  the  Porpoise's 
jaw  being  worth  a  guinea  an  ounce  for  watchmakers' 
use.  But  I  do  not  know  how  far  this  is  justified — I 
should  say  it  was  just  a  yarn.  They  used  to  be  valued 
as  food,  but  now  I  do  not  think  anybody  but  sailors 
would  eat  them,  and  sailors  only  in  the  absence  of 
anything  more  palatable.  Their  flesh  is  like  very  dark, 
fine-grained  beef  with  a  strong  flavour  of  hsh. 

The  strangest  member  of  the  Dolphin  family  is 
undoubtedly  the  Narwhal,  that  curious  cetacean  which 
has  one  or  two  teeth  so  abnormally  developed  that  they 
have  been  utilised  for  bedposts  ;  most  people  have  seen 
pictures  of  this  bizarre-looking  whale,  with  the  long 
twisted  yellow  horn  of  ivory  sticking  straight  out  from 
his  nose.  There  is  very  ood  reason  to  suppose  that 
the  idea  of  the  unicorn  as  shown  in  our  royal  arms  may 
have  been  taken  from  this  extraordinary  Dolphin ; 
much  more  reasonable  one  would  think  than  that  it 
should  have  been  taken  from  the  ungainly  rhinoceros. 
It  is  restricted  in  its  habitat  to  the  Arctic  regions,  and 
is  supposed  by  a  great  many  of  the  natives  to  be  the 
male  of  the  Bcluf^a,  or  white  whale,  a  supposition  which 
is  worthy  of  sonic  credit,  owing  to  the  similarity  of 
structure,  other  than  the  horn,  between  them.  Only 
the  Biiuf^a  does  not  confine  itself  to  feeding  in  the  sea, 
but  on  the  Alaskan  coast  pursues  the  salmon  far  up 


,  i 


The   Confiding  *  Black  Fish  '     J I 


tlie  rivers,  a  feat  whirh  the  Narwhal  has  never  been 
known  to  perform.  He  contents  himself  with  p;roping  in 
v,.r  muddy  or  sandy  bottoms  of  shallow  Arctic  waters, 
-tirring  up  slugf,'ish  fish,  and  transfixing  them  with  his 
Imrn  prior  to  pushing  them  off  and  swallowing  them. 
Tiiis  may  sound  fantastic,  far-fetched  ;  yet  it  was  the 
opinion  of  so  good  a  man  and  close  observer  as  Captain 
William  Scoresby  ;  and  after  all  it  is  precisely  what  the 
>\vord-fish  does,  on  the  evidence  of  many  observers, 
myself  among  the  number.  And  wiiat  the  sword-fish 
dues  I  am  sure  the  Narwhal  can  do,  being  quite  as  agile 
and  certainly  more  intelligent. 

The  Black  Fish  (Globiccphalus)  is  a  miniature  sperm 
whale  to  all  appearance,  having  a  huge  square  head, 
and  much  spermaceti  in  it.  It  feeds  in  the  same 
regions  as  does  the  cachalot,  but  sometimes  in  enormous 
numbers.  It  is  one  of  the  largest  of  the  Dolphins,  for 
I  have  seen  individuals  weighing  over  six  tons,  and 
yielding  three  to  four  barrels  of  excellent  oil.  While 
not  nearly  so  sociable  as  the  Porpoise,  using  the  word  In 
its  sailor  sense,  it  is  a  confiding  beast,  permitting  a  boat 
to  approach  closely  enough  to  harpoon  it  without 
manifesting  any  alarm.  And  when  one  of  the  school  is 
harpooned  the  other  boats  may  pull  up  and  harpoon  as 
many  as  they  list,  for  an  insatiable  curiosity  seems  to 
siize  upon  all  the  family  to  see  whatever  had  befallen 
their  friends.  I  have  often  seen  as  many  as  a  dozen 
of  these  bulky  creatures  secured  by  four  boats  at  one 
lowering,  and  the  utmost  diihculty  experienced  in 
getting  through  the  assembled  crowd  of  survivors, 
which,  however,  made  no  attempt  to  avenge  their  slain 
comrades. 

I-ike  the  rest  of  the  dolphins,  the  Black  Fish  appears 
to  be  very  happy.  Since  the  decline  of  the  whale 
f -hery  to  its  present  exceedingly  low  ebb  it  would  seem 


3 


^-    < 


•''■':.:  f  f 


*!5»' 


^^r 


72 


The  Rorquals 


as  if  the  worst  ot  liis  tnciiiies  are  removed,  for  he  is  too 
ajjile  to  be  taught,  and  too  large  to  be  gobbled  up  if 
caught,  by  his  fierce  rousin  the  Onu.  If  one  could 
judge  of  the  mental  condition  of  animals  by  their  facial 
expression,  it  would  be  quite  natural  to  suppose  that 
the  Black  Fish  was  a  creature  of  sunny  disposition  and 
one  whose  lines  had  fallen  in  pleasant  i)laci's,  for  he  has 
an  innocent  smiling  cxpressicjn,  owing  to  the  peculiar 
shape  of  the  mouth  and  the  profile  that  is  almost  ludi- 
crous to  see.  But  I  confess  that  when  first  I  saw  it  I 
did  not  think  it  ludicrous,  I  rather  felt  that  it  was  a 
shame  that  such  a  jolly-looking  animal  should  be  chased 
and  killed  for  the  sake  of  getting  a  few  gallons  of  oil  out 
of  him. 


1 


CHAPTER   VI 


■1 


SIRENIA 

IT  seems  meet  to  close  these  observations  on  whales 
generally  by  a  few  remarks  upon  what  is  really  the 
connecting  link  between  the  whales  and  the  seals, 
iKtwxcn  those  mammals  who  spend  all  their  time  in  the 
w.ittr — cannot  live  out  of  it — and  those  who,  while 
living  entirely  on  the  produce  of  the  sea  and  perfectly 
;'t  liome  there,  can  yet  make  shift  to  live  ashore  for  a 
wlulr,  settle  their  love  affairs  there,  and  produce  their 
f.imiiies.     Such  a  hnk  is  found  in  the  strange  creature 

I  ilKd  trivially  the  Sea  Cow,  but  scientifically  the 
Manatee  and  Halicore.      They  are  both  riverine  and 

I I  M-tul  mammals,  feeding  upon  algae  at  the  bottom, 
JK 1  i'lctly  harmless  and  almost  helpless  creatures,  almost 
unable,  in  spite  of  their  great  si^e,  to  keep  from  be- 
rnming  extinct.  In  fact,  one  species  (Rhytina),  once 
\i'  ntiful  on  the  shores  of  Behring  Straits,  has  become 
extinct — its  enemies  had  little  difficulty  in  removing  it 
from  the  list  of  extant  animals. 

-Most  readers  of  Kipling's  fascinating  sea  idyll.  The 
White  Sail,  'A  ill  remember  Kotick's  meeting  with  Sea 
Cow ,  and  his  following  them  to  the  wonderful  beaches 
\vhere  man  never  came.  Like  all  the  work  of  this  great 
writer,  his  description  of  the  Dugong  and  Halicore  is 
marked  by  scientific  accuracy,  and  points  out  clearly 
;lif    remarkable    structure    of    this    connecting    hnk 

n 


t^,  s-. 

1^ 


; 


'  f  '•w. 


,f-. 


sai 


74  Sirenia 

iH-twcon  land  and  sea  animals.  In  cvorv  way  they  are 
a  coiniironiise  ;  but  a  study  of  them  is  of  tlie  utmost 
value  as  showing,'  liow  the  transition  from  land  to  sea 
of  all  tlie  wlialcs  tonk  i)lace.  A  careful  ex.imination 
of  them  shows  \arious  ( liaraeteristics  almost  identical 
with  those  of  seals,  such  as  nostril-shaped  l)lovvhole>--, 
larf^'e,  expressive  eyes,  and  wiiiskers  on  the  muz  1, , 
while  scattered  about  thf  body  are  many  bristly  hairs, 
evidently  a  srirvi\a!  of  the  haii\'  co\cring  of  a  land 
animal  beini,^  replaci'd  as  the  se.i-life  is  taken  to  by  a 
coating  of  blubber  bmeath  the  skin. 

But  the  grand  peculiarity  about  the  Sirenia  is  their 
vegetarianism.  Some  of  the  Ddpliinidae  do  e;it  algae, 
those,  tliat  is,  whose  habitat  is  scjme  great  ri\er  like  the 
Amazon  or  Ganges,  but  even  with  them  it  is  certain  that 
they  are  not  exclusively  vegetarian,  from  the  contents 
of  tl  eir  stomachs,  and  there  is  even  a  doubt  in  some 
minds  whether  the  presence  of  vegetable  matter  in 
their  stomachs  is  not  a  matter  of  accident  rather  than 
preference.  But  the  Manatee  and  Halicore  are,  un- 
doubtedly, exclusively  vegetable-feeders,  which  at  once 
places  them  upon  a  plane  apart  from  all  their  fellows 
in  a  rigidly  carnivorous  community.  Is  it  any  wonder 
that  one  species  {Rhytina)  has  become  extinct  ?  They 
are  too  gentle  for  their  stern  world  ;  as  much  out  of 
place  in  it  as  a  herd  of  antelopes  in  a  jungle  peopled  with 
tigers. 

The  first  sight  of  the  Dugong  as  it  lifts  its  queer  head 
above  the  surface  is  startling.  Although  upon  a  close 
examination  it  would  be  impossible  to  trace  any  resem- 
blance whatever  to  the  human  form  di\  ine,  yet,  from 
the  pose  of  the  head  and  remembering  the  suddenness 
with  which  it  pops  up,  perhaps  on  a  brilliantly  moonlit 
night,  one  can  find  some  excuse  for  its  scientific  generic 
name,  Siroiia,  some  justification  for  the  old  seafarers 


The   Faithful   Sirenia 


75 


wlio,  from  its  appearance,  wove  tluir  f.ibulac  concerning 
nurinrn  and  mermaids.  Only,  like  all  the  whales,  not 
I'veii  excepting;  tin  Bciuf^a,  it  has  no  voice.  Anv  •-ound 
it  makes,  or  any  whale  makes,  is  due  to  the  ru'-lung  of 
tilt'  air  tlirough  the  spiracle  or  si)onthnle,  and  not  to  any 
laryngeal  exercise.  The  Manatee  and  Diiii^ong,  more- 
over, have  an  aditional  claim  npon  our  notice,  and  a 
jtroof  of  their  close  connexion  with  the  higher  land 
intelligence,  in  that  they  have  been  tamed. 

The  late  lamented  superintendent  of  the  London 
Zoological  Gardens  once  trained,  or,  rather,  took  over 
the  training,  of  a  young  Manatee  in  Surinam,  which 
winild  come  to  him  as  he  w  .ded  into  its  pond  and  permit 
him  to  hold  it  in  his  knees  while  he  gave  it  suck  from  a 
feeding-bottle.  And  there  is  a  record  of  one  of  these 
strange  anomalies  being  kept  as  a  pet  by  a  Spanish 
South  American  governor  for  twenty-six  years,  during 
which  it  behaved  itself  quite  as  sensibly  as  any  ex- 
clusively land  animal  could  have  done,  even  to  the 
extent  of  allowing  the  boys  of  the  household  to  ride  it 
round  its  lake. 

After  this,  it  is  not  surprising  to  learn  that  its 
fondness  for  its  young  is  as  strong  as  that  possessed  by 
r.ny  of  the  cetacea,  not  excepting  the  humpback, 
although  its  power  of  defending  its  offspring  is  exceed- 
ingly limited,  for  the  Manatee  has  a  tail  like  a  beaver 
and  not  at  all  like  a  whale,  which  member,  though 
useful  enough  to  swim  with,  is  of  scarcely  any  value  as 
a  weapon. 

.Another  marked  feature  of  this  strange  animal's 
life  is  its  conjugal  love.  It  has  one  mate,  to  which  it 
tdithfully  clings,  nor  will  it  leave  its  spouse  even  under 
the  extremest  pressure  of  fear,  preferring  death  to 
separation.  Thereby  it  is  at  once  lifted  on  to  a  plane 
in  our  estimation  far  above  that  of  any  other  sea- 


^ 


MICROCOPY    RESOLUTION    TEST    CHART 

ANSI  ana  ISO  TESI  CHART  No    2 


1.0 


I.I 


1.25 


i  2.8 


II  2.5 

12.2 

zo 

1.8 


1.4     III  i.6 


^     APPLIED  IIVI^GE     Inc 


(716)  *82  -  0300  -  Phone 

''•f ;    :8S  -  5985  -   r^:. 


76 


Si 


irenia 


mammal  or  amphibious  creature,  all  of  which  have 
very  clastic  habits  as  rc^'ards  their  connubial  associa- 
tions. I  leave  the  5m';.'/./  with  regret  as  being  at  once 
one  of  tlie  most  interesting  and  one  of  the  strangest  of 
all  the  denizens  of  the  Deep  Sea. 


y 


* 


► 


CHAPTER   VII 


y 


^. 


I 


THE  WALRUS,    MORSE,   OR    SEA-HORSE 

FROM  the  Sircnia  to  the  Walrus  is  one  of  the  easiest 
steps,  for  Sea  Vitch,  as  Kiphng  calls  the  latter,  is 
ugly  and  uncouth  enough  to  be  one  of  the  very  same 
family  as  the  dugong,  although  in  truth  he  is  nothing 
of  the  sort.  But  at  the  outset  I  feel  impelled  to  enter 
a  stem  protest  against  the  gross  libel  upon  that  beauti- 
ful animal  the  horse,  perpetrated  by  calling  the  Walrus 
a  sea-horse  and  the  hippopotamus  a  river-hurse.  What, 
in  tlie  name  of  common-sense,  have  cither  of  those  most 
ungainly  brutes  in  common  with  one  of  the  most  elegant 
and  beautiful  of  all  known  animals  ?  Not  that  I  would 
rashly  call  any  of  the  Creator's  wonderful  designs  ugly 
— I  do  but  speak  after  the  manner  of  men.  But  there 
does  appear  to  me  to  be  such  an  utter  lack  of  apprecia- 
tion of  similarity  in  the  conferring  of  titles  like  the 
foregoing.  Nor  is  the  manatee  any  more  like  a  cow  ; 
still,  there  is  not  quite  the  same  jar  to  our  sensibilities 
in  the  comparison,  since  the  cow  is  not  what  one  would 
truthfully  describe  as  graceful,  either  in  outline  or 
movement. 

Perhaps  of  all  land-walking  animals,  not  even  the 
Myrmccophagus,  none  can  compete  with  the  Walrus 
for  clumsiness.  He  has  a  gigantic  body— in  tlie  fullest- 
grown  adult  about  a  ton  in  weight — and  about  as 
un>ymmetMcal  as  a  leathern  bag  of  oil  or  the  body  of  a 
liil'popotamus.      It  is  covered  with  a  tough   gnarled 


Is 

a  5: 
?§ 

> 

z 

6  = 

O.V. 


i 


78  The  Walrus,  Morse,  or  Sea^Horse 

hide,  scantily  clothed  with  coarse  brown  hair,  very 
patchy,  in  fact  not  at  all  unlike  one  of  those  old  hair 
trunks  we  used  to  see  occa  ionally.  The  fore  flippers 
are  very  short,  and  the  hand-like  members  are  planted 
flat  at  almost  right  angles  to  the  body,  while  the  hind 
flippers  have  no  legs  to  them,  being  apparently  just 
an  ornamental  appendage  to  the  body  in  lieu  of  a  tail. 
Consequently  he  who  can  watch  the  progress  of  a 
Walrus  over  land  or  ice  and  not  laugh  must  be  quite 
devoid  of  humour  or  any  sense  thereof,  for  it  is  certainly 
one  of  the  most  JroU-looking  methods  of  progression 

conceivable. 

But,  as  Dr.  Johnson  is  reported  to  have  said  of  the 
dancing  dog,  the  wonder  is  not  that  he  should  perform 
so  strangely,  but  that  he  should  perform  at  all.     For 
*he  body  in  an  adult  will  weigh  about  a  ton,  and  the 
road  over  which  the  creature  ordinarily  travels  is  one 
of  the  most  rugged  or  slippery  imaginable  :   a  floe  with 
a  surface  like  a  mirror,  or  a  mass  of  rough  hummocks 
where  the  ice  has  been  broken  up  by  the  sea,  and,  coming 
together  again,  has  conglomerated  and  congealed  in  the 
most  fantastic  shapes.     At  the  upper  extremity  of  this 
oblong  mass  of  flesh  is  the  head,  ludicrously  small  as 
compared  with  the  body.     It  looks  almost  as  if  the 
body  had  suddenly  tapered  to   a  slightly  elongated 
point.     And  where  one  naturally  looks  for  the  brain, 
at  the  top  of  the  skull,  there  is  apparently  no  room  for 
one,  only  a  flat  solid-looking  mass  of  bone.     The  skull, 
however,  is  abnormally  powerful,  as  it  need  be,  for 
depending  from  it  at  right  angles  are  the  characteristic 
tusks,  like  a  pair  of  pickaxes.     With  these  the  Walrus, 
suddenly  rising  from  the  bottom,  hooks  on  to  an  ice-floe, 
and  with  an  almost  incredible  exhibition  of  strength 
hauh  himself  up  out  of  the  water  and  into  the  berth  he 
has  selected  for  his  sun-bath  or  doze.     With  the  same 


So 

S     A) 

UJ   H- 


AM,   i.ANi"   uai.kim;   wimai.s   num;  can  <n.\l 
ri.ii:  wrni    riii:  wai.ims  idu  ci.i msinkss." 


s 


The  Gentle  Walrus 


79 


tu-ks,  too,  he  digs  in  the  sea-bed  for  his  food,  wliich  is 
piinci]xilly  shell-lish,  although  he  does  not  disdain  the 
offal  of  a  dead  whale,  or  indeed  anything  else  of  an 
animal  nature,  so  long  as  it  does  not  involve  the  chase 
of  the  object. 

Pursuit  is  not  at  all  in  the  programme  of  the  Walrus, 
except  under  certain  circumstances  to  be  alluded  to 
presently.  The  stomach  of  a  Walrus  that  I  once 
examined  (caught  on  a  lloe  in  Behring  Straits)  looked 
like  the  contents  of  an  oyster-dredge  just  hauled  up. 
Curious  shellfish  of  many  kinds  and  in  several  cases 
alive  ;  stones,  sand,  mud,  shrimps,  worms,  and  other 
things  ;  it  was  a  queer  collection.  Yet  it  seemed — if 
fuch  was  his  regular  diet,  and  I  have  no  reason  to 
suppose  that  it  was  not — to  have  suited  the  Walrus 
very  well  indeed,  for  he  was  so  fat  that  out  of  his 
wounds  exuded  almost  as  much  oil  as  blood. 

As  might  be  supposed  from  the  nature  of  its  food, 
the  Walrus  is  a  gentle  and  inoffensive  creature.  Here, 
again,  a  sense  of  extreme  incongruity  is  aroused  in  one 
at  the  sight  of  a  ]\Iorse  suddenly  popping  up  from  under 
the  sea.  Its  appearance  is  savage  in  the  extreme  ;  no 
painted  Indian  ever  succeeded  in  making  himself  look 
more  terror-striking  than  the  Walrus,  and  his  bristling 
whiskers,  each  hair  almost  as  thick  as  a  porcupine  quill 
and  completely  hiding  the  setting  of  the  tusks,  serves 
excellently  to  heighten  his  appearance  of  ferocity. 
Yet,  generally  speaking,  at  the  sight  of  man  he  will 
tlee  as  fast  as  he  can,  with  every  appearance  of  earnest 
desire  to  get  away.  The  exceptions  to  this  rule  are 
found  during  the  breeding  season,  among  both  males 
and  females,  the  former  in  defence  of  the  latter,  and  the 
latter  in  defence  of  their  young.  And  as  they  are  very 
sociable  creatures,  loving  to  herd  in  hundreds,  an  at- 
tacking  boat  suddenly  finds   itself  surrounded  by   a 


> 
>  -I 

si 


8o  The  Walrus,  Morse,  or  Sea-Horse 

licid  o{   infuriated   Walrus,  each  armrd  with  the  for- 
midable weapons  before  noted. 

Contrary  to  the  expectation  aroused  by  its  appear- 
ance  the  Walrus  has  a  large  and  fully-developed  brain, 
altluiugh  it  is  not   especially  notable   for  intelligence. 
But  then  the  study  of  the  brain  is  s-j  far  from  being  well 
advanced  that  we  do  not  yet  know  why  the  elephant 
with  its  comparatively  insignihcant  brain  should  be 
so  much  more  intelligent  than  the  ox,  one-eighth  of  the 
ek  i)hant's  bulk  and  with  a  brain  almost  as  large.     Or 
why  the  sperm  whale  should  be  so  int.'lligent,  with  a 
brain  about  the  same  size  as  the  ox    and  a  body  one 
hundred  times  larger.     Perhaps  in  the  latter  instance 
there  is  a  distribution  of  brain  at  points  along  the  spinal 
column,  so  that  messages  from  outlying  parts  of  the 
body  should  not  have  so  far  to  tiavel.     I  do  not  here 
try  to  be  funny  but  only  state  what  has  been  seriously 
sugg>  sted  by  natundists. 

In  one  respect,  at  any  rate,  the  Walrus  is  the  equal 
of  any  of  the   higher   intelligences.     That   is  in   the 
parental  quality.     No  animal  cares   for  its  offspring 
so  long  or  more  lovingly.     No  animal  will  willingly 
undergo  more  suffering  and  privation  for  the  sake  of 
its  young.     There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  female 
Walrus  suckles  its  young,  and  provides  other  food  for 
it  as  well  during  the  latter  part  of  the  period,  for  two 
years.     This  has  been,   I   think,   abundantly   proved 
by  observation,  and,  moreover,  the  great  canine  teeth 
which  develop  into  the  formidable  tusks  characteristic 
of  this  animal,  and  without  which  it  is  impossible  for 
it  to  live,  do  not  show  more  than  an  inch  or  two  until 
it  is  two  years  old.     But  the  mother  never  seems  to 
weary  of  her  huge  burden,  the  baby,  if  it  be  a  male, 
often   reaching   its  mother's  proportions  before   it  is 
weaned.     With   iniinite,   devoted   patience   she   cares 


$ 


Defence,  not  Defiance 


8i 


for  it,  watcho^;  over  it,  defends  it  with  iier  own  Dody, 
ind,  one  is  tempted  to  say,  loves  her  burden  so  much 
that  she  is  grieved  when  slie  must  hiy  it  down. 

However  that  may  be,  it  is  certain  that  the  Walrus 
for  al!  their  uncouth  appearance,  and  extraordinary 
method  of  living  (so  totally  different  from  all  other 
S'  .1  mammals  whatever),  enjoy  their  lives  to  the  full 
ill  the  best  sense  of  the  term.  In  one  res{x?ct,  indeed, 
they  are  extremely  fortunate  :  with  the  exception  of 
man,  they  have  no  enemies.  The  great  Polar  bear 
does  not  lightly  engage  in  a  combat  with  '  Awuk,' 
since  he  knows  that  in  those  formidable  tusks  he  has 
opposing  weapons  that  are  quite  a  match  for  even  his 
tremendous  claws  and  teeth,  while  the  hide  of  the 
Walrus  is  so  tough  and  thick  as  to  be  almost  impene- 
trable to  even  the  onslaught  of  the  great  white  terror 
of  the  Arctic  seas.  Consequently,  the  Walrus  lives 
a  fairly  peaceful  life  among  his  fellows.  He  does  not 
prey  upon  them,  and  Nature  has  so  equipped  him  that 
they  cannot  prey  upon  him. 

But  man  has  wrought  terrible  havoc  among  the 
Walrus.  Even  as  far  back  as  1327,  it  is  recorded  in  a 
receipt  preserved  at  Bergen  that  the  Greenlanders 
paid  their  tribute  to  the  Crusades  in  Walrus  tusks. 
And  all  along  the  Labrador  coast  as  well  as  the  Gulf 
of  St.  Lawrence,  where  a  Walrus  now  would  be  almost 
as  great  a  curiosit"  as  a  seal  on  the  English  coasts, 
they  were  a  centu.y  ago  so  numerous  that  hundreds 
were  slaughtered  in  a  day.  Various  causes  have, 
however,  reduced  the  hunting  of  the  Walrus  to  an 
insignificant  matter  chiefly  confined  to  the  Eskimo, 
who  are  entitled  fairly  to  the  produce  of  their  hunting, 
since  they  are  sportsmen  in  the  best  sense  of  the  term. 
They  do  not  kill  for  the  sake  of  killing,  but  for  their 
viry  life,  and  the  Walrus  is  one  of  their  chosen  objects 

6 


-  M 
> 


82  The  Walrus,  Morse,  or  Sea^Horse 

of  till'  cliase  for  his  succulence  (from  an  Eskimo  stand- 
point), from  his  lack  of  speed,  and  from  his  love  of 
shallow  w.itrr-,  where  lie  linds  the  ImniMe  molluscs 
u])on  wliieh  he  feeds.  Siich  gaps  as  the  l':>kimo  make 
in  the  ranks  of  the  Walrus  will  do  no  more  than  preserve 
the  natural  bal.mce  necessary.  If  only  civilised  man 
will  let  tlie  \V,ilrus  alone,  having  found  that  the  hunting 
does  not  i)ay,  there  will  soon  be  as  many  as  ever  there 
were  to  people,  if  not  exactly  to  beautify,  the  lonely 
Arctic  regions. 


i 


CHAPTER    VIII 
THE    SEA    ELEPHANT 

AS  far  as  size  goes,  this  giant  seal  could  probably  give 
points  to  the  walrus,  but  he  is  certainly  not  so 
ferocious-looking.  Except  for  the  curious  nose 
(whence  his  Greek  name)  he  is  just  a  big  black  seal  fairly 
agile  in  the  sea,  and  clumsy  ashore,  like  all  iiis  kind. 
Again,  but  for  his  partly-developed  proboscis,  he  should 
be  called  sea  hippopotamus,  ratlier  than  Sea  Elephant. 
He  is  about  the  bulk  of  a  hippopotamus  of  the  same 
age,  although  more  hirsute  and  with  a  less  extensive 
opening  of  the  jaws.  His  proboscis  is  just  an  extension 
of  the  skin  of  the  nose,  which  usually  hangs  down 
limply  before  the  mouth  for  about  a  foot,  and  is  mflated 
when  the  animal  is  enraged  or  excited.  The  young 
ones  and  females  are  destitute  of  this  appendage- 
one  cannot  call  it  an  ornament.  He  holds  among 
seals  the  unique  position  of  being  common  to  both 
hemispheres,  although  from  the  ardour  with  which  he 
has  been  hunted,  very  few  specimens  exist  now  north 
of  the  Equator. 

Like  every  other  sea  mammal  which  I  have  hitherto 
dealt  with,  he  has  now  a  respite,  and  is  consequently 
increasing  in  numbers  rapidly.  He  forms  practically 
the  only  population  of  many  an  otherwise  lonely  series 
of  barren  rocks  in  the  Southern  seas,  finding  in  the 
inclement  waters  washing  their  bases  the  humble  food 
he  desires  (for  like  the  walrus,  and  for  the  same  reason, 

83 


-'  X 

> 

J.;  = 

S  ^t 

S3 


84 


The   Sea   Elephant 


lack  of  spood  and  a,L;ilitv,  he  cannot  f'l  d  upon  swift- 
nu)\ing  creatuii>).  Once  tlicy  al)()und'<l  ni  inuncn  ■ 
licrds  upon  all  the  \-l\\uU  in  the  Ant.inti.-  Ocean, 
notably  Ker^nelen'^  Land  and  the  South  Shetland. 
To  those  barren  sj>ots  vessel  repairid  with  ci.  w-  that 
were  ready  for  any  fate.  These  men  were  l.indcd  upon 
those  awful  solitudes,  just  bare  nx  ks  set  in  .i  roaring 
desolate  sea,  witjiout  a  t^'recu  thin^'  to  .qladcU'n  the  eye, 
and  with  the  almost  pi'rpetual  rage  of  the  ocean  en- 
deavourinr,'  to  daunt  tlrm  They  had  onlv  the  most 
impromptu  shelter,  their  food  wis  of  the  coarsest, 
intoxicatin.g  drink  was  unknown  amon^'  them,  and  in 
this  forlorn  condition  they  lived  for  si\  months  at  a 
time,  vvithout  seeing  other  faces  or  hearing  other  voices 
than  those:  of  their  own  little  company.  In  tiie  chase 
of  the  Sea  Eleph.int,  they  ran  terrible  risks,  endured 
incredible  hard>hips,  and  their  reward  after  a  successful 
voyage  worked  out  at  something  like  los.  per  week. 
Only  the  hide  and  blubber  were  sought,  the  Elephant 
Seal  having  no  fur. 

My  own  recollection  oi  this  miserable  business  is 
a  brief  one,  but  quite  lengthy  enough  to  make  me 
thankful  that  I  shall  never  repeat  the  experience.  In 
an  evil  hour  I  engaged  to  proceed  from  New  Zealand 
to  the  Auckland  and  Campbell  Islands  in  search  of  Sea 
Elephants,  being  assured  that  it  was  not  only  exciting 
sport,  but  a  very  pleasant  pastime.  Alas,  for  the 
depravity  of  humanity !  Could  anything  be  less 
worthy  of  the  title  of  pastime  than  that  ?  And 
yet  I  am  sure  that,  as  compared  w.th  similar  work 
upon  such  terrific  rock-bound  islets  as  the  South 
Shetlands  or  South  Georgia,  it  might  even  be  called 
sport  or  pastime.  For  the  Auckland  and  Campbell 
Islands  in  summer  have  a  garment  of  vegetation,  and 
there  are  many  flowers.     There  are  also  trees,  and 


( 


Compulsory   *  Sport  ' 


8^ 


cnnsidorin;:;   the  liiyli   soutlurn   latitude,  the   pl.iro  is 
almost  halMtal)lc  for  an  Ar-'    -'^  ixon  in  fair  comfort 


Hi 


)iit  the  wtMtln  r  is  wW  u  iici 


-toriii-tuiid  ■ ,  abroad. 


whirh  is  about  every  other  d.iy.  Surh  is  tlic  force 
witli  wliich  tiiose  mii,'hty  soutlicrii  va\es  strii^e  these 
loiu  ly  rnoMvfiiin-pcaks  rising  from  the  sea  riqht  in  tlio 
track  (if  their  uniId-rn^^irdUng  sweep,  tliat  the  wliolc 
atmosphere  i^  full  of  sp.  ly,  and  walking  abroad,  one's 
hair  and  beard  become  ennustcd  with  salt.  Also 
much  of  the  land-surface  is  boi;,  exceedingly  dangerous 
to  tra\erse,  and,  with  the  frecpient  dense  fogs  whicli 
prewiil,  alnio~t  imjiossible  to  avoid. 

These  islands  being  a  favourite  haunt  of  the  Sea 
Elephant,  we  went  tliere  m  search  of  them,  and  set 
up  our  try-works  on  the  jiromi-ing  spot.  Provisions 
and  materials  for  building  huts  having  been  landed, 
the  ship  sailed  away  ;  it  was  no  place  for  a  vessel  to 
linger  at  anchor.  Better  by  far  face  tlic  utmost  fury 
of  the  open  sea.  We  watched  her  departure  with  a 
Jiang,  for  now  we  felt  desolate  indeed  ;  but  our  thoughts 
Were  rudely  interrujited  by  the  curt  orders  of  our 
ofTicers,  who  wanted  to  know  if  we  thought  we  had 
come  there  for  a  pic  nic.  So  we  phinged  into  work  of 
the  hardest  in  order  to  get  things  a  bit  ship-shape  ; 
but  before  we  had  been  toihng  an  hour  we  were  all 
suddenly  startled  stiff  by  a  most  tremendous  roaring, 
as  of  a  troop  of  lions  newly  landed.  Our  hesitation 
was  but  momentary,  for  our  two  oiTiccrs,  recognising 
the  somid,  bade  us  grasp  our  clubs,  sheath  our  knives, 
and  follow  them.  We  did  so,  and  presently,  coming 
across  a  ridge  of  rock  into  view  of  a  little  exposed  bay, 
wo  saw  at  least  a  hundred  of  these  huge  seals  emerging 
from  the  broken  water  and  lumbering  shorewards. 

We  watched  them  with  intcnsest  interest,  feeling 
gratcf'-l  for  the  rest,  and  also  (I  speak  for  myself)  most 


-J  J. 


86 


The  Sea  Elephant 


curious  to  know  what  sort  of  a  reception  these  monsters 
would  give  us  when  we  burst  in  upon  them  armed 
only  with  clubs.  True,  we  had  been  told  repeatedly 
that  all  we  had  to  do  was  to  smite  them  fiercely  on  the 
nose,  and  they  would  fall  an  inert  mass  at  our  feet, 
when  we  were  to  cut  tlicir  throats  immediately.  But 
somehow  a  sight  of  them  did  not  seem  to  inspire  us 
with  much  confidence  in  our  ability  to  carry  out  these 
simple  orders  to  the  letter.  They  looked  so  awe- 
inspiring  in  that  luminous  haze.  There  was  a  gentle 
drip  drip  of  moisture  from  the  rocks  around  distinctly 
audible  between  the  long,  sullen,  thunderous  roll  of 
the  breakers,  and  the  occasional  hideous  roaring  of  the 
seals,  and  to  my  excited  fancy  it  seemed  as  if  it  were 
+he  ticking  of  the  clock  of  my  lile  almost  run  down. 
For  natural  scepticism  asserted  itself,  and  I  did  not, 
could  not,  believe  that  our  enterprise  was  as  free  from 
danger  as  I  had  been  so  repeatedly  assured. 

At  last,  after  what  seemed  an  interminable  time  of 
■  aiting,  during  which  my  hand  got  quite  glued  to  my 
club  from  the  nervous  energy  of  my  grip  upon  it,  the 
last  of  tlie  mighty  family  slowly  heaved  his  huge  bulk 
out  of  the  surf  ;nd  waddled  aftc.  the  rest  inland.  He 
iiad  hardly  put  a  dozen  yards  between  himself  and  the 
water-line,  when,  in  a  low,  hissing  voice,  our  chief 
said  :  '  Now,  then,  spread  yourselves  along  the  beach 
between  'em  an'  the  sea.  Remember,  a  good  bang 
where  the  trunk  joins  the  head  and  then  a  clean  swipe 
across  the  neck  with  the  knife  as  hard  as  you  can  cut. 
Don't  do  nothing  but  that  to  as  many  as  you  can.' 

Off  we  all  rushed,  he  leading  us,  without  a  sound 
save  the  patter  of  our  feet  on  the  sand  until  we  were 
all  between  the  Ek^phants  and  the  sea.  Then  we  raised 
a  yell,  startling  and  vigorous  enough  to  dominate  the 
boom  of  the  breakers.     I  saw  the  hindmost  monster 


I  '■< 


Si? 

I* 


WKKK    SIDDKNLY    STARTI.KI)    STIFF    liV    A    MOST 
K.MENDorS  ROAUI\(;  AS  OF  A  TROOP  OF  LIOXS," 


'vJi:^;/': 


A  Fearsome  Fight 


87 


stop  and  look  about  enquiringly,  I  noted  that  the  herd 
had  also  paused,  their  dim  forms  swaying  to  and  fro, 
as  they  endeavoured  to  find  out  by  sight  or  scent  the 
cause  of  their  alarm.  Presently  anotlier  yell  completed 
their  undoing,  and  thev  turned  and  made  for  the  sea 
again.  Now  I  do  not  pretend  to  any  daring  whatever, 
but  if  I  did,  I  think  I  should  have  been  justified  in 
wishing  to  be  elsewhere  then.  The  charge  of  tliat  troop 
of  monsters  down  upon  our  little  band,  entirely  un- 
versed in  this  warfare,  and  armed  only  with  clubs  not 
much  heavier  than  a  policeman's  truncheon,  was  a 
severe  test  of  nerve  and  faith. 

But  our  chief  saved  the  situation.  He  faced  the 
leader  and  smote  him  so  felly  upon  the  spot  he  had 
indicated  to  us,  that  the  vast  mass  of  the  body  collapsed 
like  a  burst  bladder  and  spread  itself  upon  the  ground. 
That  fired  us,  and  immediately  we  were  all  doing 
hkewise,  yelling  like  demons  at  the  same  time.  Why, 
I  do  not  know,  but  so  it  was.  But  we  were  not  to  come 
off  scatheless.  One  man  missed  his  blow  and  his 
footing  at  the  same  time,  and  putting  his  left  arm  out 
to  save  himself  from  falling  thrust  it  into  the  monster's 
gaping  jaws.  Now  the  Sea  Elephant  can  crack  pebbles 
as  large  as  goose-eggs  like  nuts,  and  does  do  so,  ap- 
parently for  sport,  so  that  when  we  drew  Sandy  from 
underneath  his  fallen  foe,  and  prising  open  the  jaw, 
released  his  arm,  it  looked  more  like  some  shreds  of 
red  rag  than  anything  else.  Some  rude  '  first  aid  ' 
was  applied,  and  the  work  of  slaughter  went  on. 

The  upshot  of  the  raid  was  twenty-one  elephants 
killed,  of  which  I  know  our  chief  was  responsible  for 
ten.  And  we  were  a  study  in  ruffianism — '  gaumed  ' 
all  over  with  blood  and  grease,  stumbling  over  the 
smallest  stone  from  very  weariness  after  the  reaction 
had  come,  yet  compelled  to  toil  on  with  only  a  few 


§ 


5? 


'dec 
.■J  ^ 


88 


The  Sea  Elephant 


minutes'  rest  at  long  intervals  all  through  the  night  at 
the  unfamiliar  work  of  skinning  those  great  beasts, 
then  securing  the  masses  of  fat-laden  hide  to  a  rope, 
dragging  the  greasy  plunder  over  the  intervening  space, 
of  a  roughness  hardly  conceivable.  Yes,  it  was  a  crude 
experience,  and  remembering  the  triviality  of  the 
reward,  I  am  filled  with  wonder  at  our  folly  for  ever 
undertaking  it.  But  we  did  not  know,  nor  did  we 
take  the  trouble  to  enquire.  I  must  not  forget  to 
mention  before  I  leave  this  uninviting  part  of  my 
subject  that  Sandy  did  not  lose  his  arm.  In  spite  of 
the  bones  being  broken,  nay  almost  ground  to  pulp  in 
several  places,  and  the  extensive  laceration  of  the  flesh, 
also  the  exceedingly  primitive  surgery,  he  was  able  to 
use  the  arm  again  in  six  weeks,  and  long  before  that 
was  assisting  as  best  he  could  in  the  work  with  one 
arm. 

Strangely  enough,  I  could  put  no  heart  in  my  work, 
for  I  could  not  help  feeling  all  the  while  that  I  was  in 
the  position  of  the  unprovoked  aggressor,  and  that 
whatever  happened  to  me,  I  should  deserve  all  I  got. 
And  that  is  no  frame  of  mind  to  go  a-whaling  or 
a-sealing  in.  But  perhaps  I  had  better  not  extend  my 
personal  recollections  of  the  Sea  Elephant  any  farther, 
or  I  may  convey  quite  a  wrong  impression  of  hirn.  It 
is  true  that  by  accident  he  or  she,  as  the  case  may  be, 
does  inflict  serious  injury  upon  the  aggressor.  But 
this  is  quite  accidental.  I  am  persuaded  that  the  Sea 
Elephant,  except  among  his  fellows  at  the  mating 
season,  and  even  then  in  far  less  proportion  than  the 
common  seal,  is  harmless.  As  his  diet  will  testify, 
he  is  no  insatiable  hunter  after  higher  organisms. 
Cuttle-fish,  those  snaky,  uncanny  things,  that  seem 
to  have  been  created  in  order  to  provide  food  for  a 
full  half  of  the  sea  mammals,  and  the  lower  moUusca, 


Contented  with  Little 


8g 


\  es,  even  so  small  as  mussels  are  the  daily  food  of  the 
Sea  Elephant  and,  like  the  u  urus,  very  satisfying  he 
>eems  to  find  them.  ::"ecure  in  his  impervious  coating 
of  fat  and  hide,  he  loves  to  lie  upon  the  battered  and 
bare  rocks  with  the  spindrift  hissing  over  him,  as  cosy 
as  a  cat  upon  a  hearthrug  before  a  blazing  lire.  Loves 
to  watch  the  gambols  of  the  pups  learning  to  swim  in 
the  boiling  surf,  and  to  nuzzle  in  the  ooze  at  the  bottom 
of  the  sea  for  the  succulent  morsels  which  cannot  escape 
him.  Altogether  it  cannot  be  denied  that  the  All-Wise 
One  has  given  to  the  Elephant  Seal  a  high  and  enviable 
place  among  the  sea  mammals  ;  and  now  that  man's 
desire  for  his  particular  products  has  been  satisfied  by 
other  and  more  easily  and  cheaply  obtained  substitutes 
his  lot  will  be  as  near  being  perfect  as  any  animal's 
can  or  ought  to  be.  For  he  has  no  enemies  other  than 
man. 


9 


1^ 


■'■^ 


--■^^^^T^ssweKTrrrrmCKr 


CHAPTER   IX 


SEALS 


SO  many  and  diverse  are  tlie  varieties  cf  Seals,  and 
yet  so  closely  are  they  allied,  that  I  am  compelled 
to  take  tlicm  as  one  family,  and  in  order  to  economy 
of  space  and  reader's  patience,  class  them  perfvmctorily 
as  one  family,  wlii'ih  they  really  are,  it  is  true,  but  very 
widely  severed.  Still  to  the  average  reader,  like 
myself,  a  Seal  is  a  Seal,  and  there's  an  end  on't,  whether 
the  precise  naturalist  may  class  it  as  Sea  Lion,  Sea 
Bear,  Sea  Leopard,  Harp  Seal,  Saddle-back  Seal,  or 
any  other  arbitrary  distinction  whatever.  These 
minutia?,  deeply  valuable  as  they  are,  do  not  interest 
us  ;  we  only  want  to  know  enough  to  satisfy  our 
curiosity,  not  enough  to  qualifv  us  to  be  curators  of 
our  local  musinmi.  We  have  other  work  to  do.  From 
the  sea  elephant  then,  down  to  the  next  largest,  the 
Sea  Lion,  is  a  longish  step.  No  such  gap,  in  point  of 
size,  separates  the  rest  of  the  Si-als,  wide  as  their 
diversities  are.  But  in  one  respect,  a/ilily,  speed,  and 
grace,  tria  jiorta  in  uno,  they  are  all  far  superior  to 
the  sea  elephant. 

No  one  who  has  ever  watched  a  Seal  in  his  native 
element,  and  possessed  anything  of  an  eye  for  beauty 
of  curve  and  grace  of  motion,  can  ever  forget  the 
exponent  of  these  delights  to  the  eye.  No  fish,  swim 
he  swiftly  as  he  may,  can  hope  to  escape  the  pursuit 
of  the  Seal.     Like  a  streak  of  brown  light,  he  glides 

90 


^^ 


'•f\. 


--  ■  *  -  ---."""      •■     ' ''  -^n' '  .•  -      '  "  '\ ' .-■■•Li 


.■!V=!._.  . 


A  Living  Miracle 


91 


through  the  sea  and  grips  his  finny  prey  when  fleeing 
at  top  speed.  And  he  has  need  ;  for  the  Seal  has, 
like  the  shark,  a  tormenting  Hver.  Not  in  the  direction 
of  indigestion,  but  of  digestion.  Its  secretion  of 
digestive  juices  is  so  abundant  that  hardly  is  the 
stomach  filled  before  it  is  empty  again.  And  who 
ran  wonder  at  it  after  witnessing  the  amazing  ex- 
pi>nditure  of  energy  by  one  of  these  beautiful  creatures 
during  one  bright  morning,  say  off  the  Pribyloff 
Inlands  ? 

Yet  there  is  one  feature  of  the  Seal's  life  that  is 
truly  miraculous,  not  to  be  accounted  for  by  any 
known  hypothesis  whatever.  For  ten  months  of  the 
year  the  '  old  man  '  Seal  needs,  and  gets,  fully  one 
hundredweight  of  fish  per  day  to  keep  him  fit.  During 
the  other  two  months  he  fights,  makes  love,  never 
sleeps,  never  drinks,  and  never  eats.  Behold  here  a 
natural  miracle.  Many  animals  there  be  who  fast 
througl;  longer  periods,  but  all  their  natural  forces 
are  quiescent,  dormant  ;  the  waste  of  tissue  is  in- 
finitesimal. The  Seal  only,  throughout  the  most 
strenuous  period  each  year  of  his  intensely  stienuous 
life,  neither  eats  nor  drinks  nor  sleeps  for  two  months 
on  end. 

There  are  many  things  in  the  lives  of  animals,  even 
those  closely  associated  with  us,  which  are  difficult 
to  understand,  but  this  little  matter  of  the  Seal's 
abstinence  from  nourishment  and  rest  during  the  time 
ofjiis  greatest  activity  is,  I  think,  the  most  marvellous 
and  non-understandable  of  all.  Like  other  animals, 
normally  gentle  at  every  other  period  of  the  year, 
except  the  mating  season,  the  male  Seal  is  then  trans- 
formed from  the  soft-eyed  amiable  amphibian,  harmless 
as  a  dove  to  everything,  except  the  fish  upon  which 
he  lives,  into  a  furious  beast  with  bristling  moustache. 


S3 


92 


Seals 


bared  teeth,  and  glaring  eyes,  ever  spoiling  for  a  fight, 
and  as  often  as  not  covered  with  torn  and  gory  wounds 
from  head  to  foot.  These  do  not  seem  to  cause  him 
any  inconvenience,  or  allay  his  fierce  desire  for  battle. 

Not  that  he  is  guilty  of  fighting  for  fighting's  sake 
alone— I  would  not  do  him  that  injustice.  First  of 
all,  upon  arriving  at  the  breeding-place  to  which  the 
colony  of  Seals  he  belongs  to  resort  each  year,  each 
male  selects  a  spot  where  he  and  the  mate  or  mates 
who  will  presently  arrive  (for  the  Seal  is  not  mono- 
gamous) may  lodge.  It  should  be  as  near  the  sea  as 
possible,  and  also  near  a  beach,  but  its  location  is 
preferred  among  the  rocks  or  rough  ground.  Having 
selected  a  spot  about  ten  feet  square,  the  thing  is  to 
retain  it  against  the  ever-arriving  Seals  from  their 
oceanic  wanderings,  each  eager  to  eject  some  already 
established  landholder.  So  it  is  fight  and  watch  day 
and  night  to  hold  their  own. 

By-and-by  the  female  Seals  arrive,  each  a  mother 
elect,  and  then  the  scene  simply  baffles  description. 
It  says  volumes  for  the  vitality  of  the  poor  females,  that 
they  not  only  survive  the  terrible  treatment  they  re- 
ceive, but  actually  seem  little  the  worse  for  it.  As 
each  one  reaches  the  rocks  she  is  pounced  upon  by  a 
roaring  frenzied  mob  of  males,  seemingly  bent  upon 
tearing  her  limb  from  limb.  Not  only  is  she  bitten  and 
torn  most  shamefully,  but  she  is  banged  upon  the  rocks 
as  if  she  were  a  mass  of  india-rubber  rather  than  a 
living  thing.  Finally,  she  becomes  the  prize  of  the 
most  vigorous,  who  seizes  her  with  his  teeth  by  her 
neck,  drags  her  off  to  his  reservation,  and  dumps  her 
down  there.  Then  having  fought  to  obtain  her,  he 
must  now  fight  to  keep  her,  and  in  between-whiles  do 
a  little  skirmishing,  if  haply  he  may  acquire  an  extra 
wife  or  so. 


i 


.y. 


{.:  3 


*5 


Seal  Domesticities 


Now  tho  happy  proprietor  of  a  harom  mvist  kcop  close 
and  careful  watch,  less  prowling  Lotharios  should  steal 
ciif  of  his  hardly  won  wives,  or  lest  any  discontented 
i-pouse  should  venture  to  creep  away.  But  even  tlie 
tumendous  endurance  of  the  male  Seal  has  its  limits, 
and  it  frequently  happens  that,  exhausti'd  by  his  priva- 
tions and  exertions,  a  husband  will  find  some  cunning 
rival  come  in  and  eject  him.  Tlicn  there  is  nought 
for  him  to  do  but  to  go  to  sea  again  and  endeavour  by 
steady  attention  to  hunting  to  make  up  for  the  stamina 
lif  lias  dissipated  in  the  late  riots. 

Meanwhile,  the  baby  Seals  arrive.  They  receive 
little  attention  from  their  mothers,  who  listlessly  allow 
thtm  to  gorge  themselves  on  the  rich  milk  and  thrive 
ama/ingly.  As  for  the  males,  they  take  no  notice  of 
the  pups  whatever,  seem  indeed  to  be  unaware  of  their 
jm  stnce.  By-and-by  the  young  Seal  or  floe-rat  must 
1)1  taught  to  swim— another  amazing  thing  about  this 
Wonderfully  interesting  creature.  -Ml  land  animals, 
except  man,  swim  instinctively  .f  flung  into  water  even 
Hhen  just  born.  But  the  Seal,  than  whom  no  more 
graceful  and  enduring  swimmer  lives  in  or  out  of  the  sea, 
must  needs  learn  laboriously  how  to  comport  himself  in 
the  water.  And  his  mother  teaches  him.  Of  course, 
lie  is  an  apt  learner,  as  all  young  animals  are  of  what 
their  mother  has  to  teach  them. 

.•\s  lie  grows  older  he  and  hi':  thousands  of  comrades 
,C't  away  from  'he  colony  by  themselves  and  play, 
gambolling  about  all  day  long,  only  journeying  from 
the  playground  to  the  sea  and  back.  What  they  live 
upon  after  they  are  weaned  until  the  whole  colony  goes 
to  sea  again  is  not  known.  Those  that  are  killed  and 
I X  unined  never  seem  to  have  anything  in  their  stomach 
'"It  stones.  And  ii;  has  been  well  estal)lished  as  a  fact 
that,  upon  the  arrival  of  the  colony  at  their  '  rookeiy.' 


>^ 


9 


^.  as 


-J  5: 


94 


Seals 


all  the  fish  in  the  neif^hbourhood  take  the  hint  nnd  go 
away.  P>iit  at  last  tline  tomes  a  tunc  when  a  genenil 
move  is  made  seaward,  and  soon  that  densely  thronged 
patch  of  land,  where  the  noise  had  been  so  deafening 
that  one  can  only  liken  it  to  the  noise  of  two  express 
trains  [jassing  one  another  in  the  lunnel,  is  wrapt  in 
primeval  silence,  only  the  occasional  sullen  boom  of  a 
breaker,  or  the  scream  of  a  lonely  sca-Lird,  punctuating 
the  stillness. 

Now  begins  the  truly  happy  time  of  the  Seal's  life. 
That  stormy  four  months  ashore  for  the  parents,  and 
incidentally  for  tiie  young  ones  also,  has  parsed  like  a 
hideous  nightmare,  and  the  beautiful  free  life  of  a  deep- 
sea  denizen  is  before  them.  They  roam  singly  whither- 
soever tlu'y  will  all  over  the  free  ocean,  feeding,  ever 
feeding  from  the  bounteous  store  provided  for  them. 
When  weary  they  sleep  upon  the  surface,  and  I  have 
often  in  the  North  Pacific  passed  them  so  sleeping, 
rocked  in  the  embrace  of  the  curling  waves,  hundreds 
of  miles  from  land.  No  one  really  knows  how  far  they 
go,  how  wide  their  range  is  during  the  eight  months 
they  are  away  from  their  birthplace.  But  it  seems 
difficult  to  believe  that  they  ever  pass  through  the 
tropics,  having  such  a  rooted  objection  to  warmth. 
Of  course,  there  are  several  kinds  of  Seals  who  frequent 
the  temperate  zones,  notably  the  protected  rookery 
on  th.e  Farallone  Islands,  so  near  the  city  of  San 
Francisco  that  one  of  the  attractions  offered  to  visitors 
at  the  Ocean  House  is  that  they  may  sit  on  the  verandah 
and  watch  the  free  gambols  of  the  Seals. 

Of  course  the  Seal  has  enemies,  stealthy  and 
voracious.  The  killer  whale,  for  instance,  has  an 
uncanny  habit  of  slipping  up  upon  a  sleeping  Seal  and 
swallowing  him  at  a  gulp.  One  grampus,  indeed, 
stranded  upon  the  Californian  coast,  and  cut  up  by  a 


Sealing  Horrors 


95 


[uitv  of  Monc^^lioromcn,  was  found  to  liave  a  nirc  litth; 
l.unily  of   fouit, 'rn   lull-.t^nnvii    Seals    in    Ins   capacious 
ni.iw.      And    It  is  lii-nly  probable    liiat    lu    c-anic   to 
Kiuf  throu-h  cliasin,-,'  another  one  whirli  tied   ashore 
on  a  falling  tide.     Sharks,  too,  are  apt  to  take  toll  of  an 
unwary  or  sleeping  Seal,   turning  noisehs.ly  beneath 
thrni  and  taking    a  huge  bite  out  of   tlirm,  as  they 
aic  wont  to  do  out  of  a  tisli.     I'.nt  when    it   is  remem- 
bered  that   the   Seal   is  gregarious  only  wliile  ashore 
or   on   the  ice,  it  will  at   once   be  seen  that  the   toll 
t.iken  of   them   by   these   voracious   sea    monsters   is 
after    all  very   small.      The    wliite    bear    gets   a  few 
Seals  too,  but    not    many  compared   with    the    enor- 
mous numbers  of  them  that  may  be  seen  lying  about 
on  tlie  ice. 

The  one  enemy  which  counts  is  man.     I  do  not 
propose  to  harrow  my  readers'  souls  by  describing  the 
rnctliod  of  slaying  Seals  for  market,  not  only  for  the 
valuable  seal  skins  which  adorn  our  ladies  in  winter, 
but  for  the  oil  and  leather.     It  is  a  sordid,  horrible 
business,  which  cannot  be  written  about  nicely.     There 
i>  a  grim  and  bloody  reality  about  it  that  horrifies. 
For  my  part  I  shall  never  forger  Burn-Murdoch's  cry  of 
li'jrror  in  his  book,  Edinburgh  to  the  Antarctic,  wliere 
he  speaks  of  the  newly  flayed  Seal  lifting  itself  redly 
towards  heaven  in  the  glowing  sunshine  as  if  asking  its 
Maker  why  this   thing  should   be.      The  seal-fishery 
IS,  no  doubt,  apart  from  its  horrible  and  unnecessary 
brutality,   a  terrific  business  ior  man   to  engage  in. 
\\  hether  in  the  howling  Antarctic,  among  those  stern 
rucks  of  South  Georgia  or  South  Shetland,  or  in  the 
Arctic  among    the    ice-floes,    it    is    a   test   of   man's 
capacity  to  endure  that  has  probably  no  equal.     Every 
d.iy  death  in  his  most  awful  forms  must  be  faced.    Filth, 
stench,  hunger,  and  blighting  cold  must  be  met  as  part 


5 


9 


i! 

I 


^\ 


96 


Seals 


of  the  day's  work,  until  the  very  meaning  of  the  word 
coinfurt  is  forgot^  'n. 

And  the  pay  ?  Ah,  well,  as  it  always  is  unfailinglv 
the  rewards  go  to  tliose  who  have  done  nothing  but  loll 
easily  at  home  in  luxury.  Lady,  with  the  hundrod- 
guniea  scal-skin  coat,  know  for  a  certainty  that  the 
naen  who  looked  death  between  the  eyes  and  brutalised 
themselves  l.nver  than  the  shark  to  wrench  that  coat  of 
yours  from  its  rightful  owners  got  less  tlian  a  hundred 
pence  for  so  doing.  The  bulk  of  that  money  went  to 
city  magnates  and  full-fed  speculators  who  never  gave 
Its  ongui  a  second  thought. 

Of  late  years  the  indiscriminate  slaughter  of  Seals 
havmg  threatened  to  exterminate  them  entirely,  a  good 
deal  of  diplomatic  intervention  has  taken  place  for  the 
purpose,  lirst,  of  giving  the  Seal  a  close  lime,  and 
secondly.  o[  protecting  the  immature  Seal  But  it  is 
a  diKicult  thing  to  control  men  who  become  so  lawless 
as  seal-Iiunters  do  from  the  nature  of  their  calling  and 
I  fear  that  as  far  as  the  fur  Seal  is  concerned,  at  any 
.•ate,  the  day  of  his  extinction  is  not  far  off 

Kemains  only  to  note  tiie  extreme  intelligence  and 
teachability  of  the  Seal.     Most  of  us  are  familiar  with 
this  beautiful  creature  in  Zoological  Gardens,   where 
Its   restricted  quarters   cannot   conceal   its   wonderful 
grace,     home  of  us  too  will  recollect  a  group  of  trained 
•Seals  taught  to  perform  on  musical  instruments,  play 
foo  ball,  etc.     But  none  of  us  who  have  seen  the  Seal 
at   home    and  have   revelled  in   Kipling's  inimitable 
story  of  kotick  s  career,  will  need  any  reminding  that 
in  the  Seal,  no  matter  of  what  kind,  we  have  one  of  the 
most  wonderful,  amiable  and   intelligent  of  aU  God's 
creatures,  whether  ashore  or  m  the  deep  sea. 


J 


I 


CHAPTER   X 
THE    SHARK 

PASSING  from  sea  mammals  to  fish  proper  is  a  mo- 
mentous step,  and  merits  a  little  introduction,  in 
any  case.  But  when  one  must  begm  the  fish 
section  Wiih  Sharks  the  introduction  becomes  impera- 
tive. For  the  Shark  is  in  some  respects  a  sort  of  con- 
necting link  between  the  mammal  and  tlie  fish.  A  true 
n>h,  the  Shark  has  yet  the  family  or  parental  instinct 
of  which  nearly  all  other  fish  are  destitute,  a  notable 
exception  being  the  stickleback  of  fresh  water,  which 
does  love  its  young.  Another  curious  characteristic 
of  the  Shark  family  throughout  its  numerous  branches 
IS  that  it  has  no  bones.  Only  cartilage.  From  the 
H.isking  Shark  as  big  as  a  grampus,  down  to  the 
skaic,  not  a  bone  among  them. 

Another  peculiarity  of  the  Shark  tribe  is  the  stigma 
attaching  to  them,  whereby  the  word  Shark  has  become 
a  svnonym  for  a  murderous  thief,  a  creature  without 
t''  hng  or  honour  or  repentance.  I  hold  no  brief  for 
the  .s.i.ark,  but  justice  is  justice,  and  certainly  the  Sliark 
lus  !i  id  meted  out  to  him  nought  hut  injustice  tiirough- 
ont  the  years.  Whether  at  tliis  time  of  day  it  is  not 
a  forlorn  hope  to  e.xpect  justice  to  be  done  to  the  Sliark 
>s  an.jtlier  matter,  and  one  upon  wliich  I  express  no 
npnuon.  I  only  know  that  amid  the  many  fantastic 
•  '"K  Stones  extant,  based  upon  utter  ignorance  of  this 
wonderful  citizen  of  the  Deep  Sea,  his  habits  and  his 

97  7 


98 


The  Shark 


usefulness,  it  seems  well  worth  while  inserting  a  little 
triitli.     Which  is  what  I  propose  to  do. 

Ut  it  be  admitted  at  the  outset  that  the  Shark  is 
not  In  .mtiful.    In  coh^ur,  no  matter  what  branch  of  the 
SquaaJae  may  be  represented.there  is  always  an  absence 
of  any  tmt  pleasing  to  the  eye.     A  dirty  grey  or  dirty 
s  ate  cuiour  alternating  with  livid  white  is  tlie  prevailing 
shade  <;f  the  Shark,  and  even  the  stripes  of  the  Tiger 
Miark  are  not,  as  one  might  suppose,  of  the  deep  rich 
colour  of  the  animal  from  which  the  name  is  taken 
As  to  slupe,  the  same  strictures  may  apply.     Unbeauti- 
ful  in  any  case  must  be  the  verdict,  most  emphatically 
so  when  ue  come  to  the  Raiidae,  or  Skate  branch  of  the 
great  family. 

Then  all  Sharks  have  a  sinister,  villainous  appear- 
ance  n.ni  the  shape  and  position  of  their  jaw.  and  the 
cold  dead.y  expr,.ssion  in  their  eyes.     Especially  is  this 
the  case  with  tiie  least  known  of  the  family  such  as  the 
Thresher   and  V  .  Sawfish  {Pristts).     One  of  the  most 
auful-  ookmg  oi  ocean  monsters,  although   I  believe 
quite  harmless  to  man,  belongs  to  the  Raiidae,  the 
C..ant  Skate  or  ^  alligator  guard  '  of  the  Mexican  Gulf, 
known  loc.illy  by  the  sinister  sobriquet  of  Piscau  del 
Diahh,  or  dev.l-hsh.     And  as  if  all  these  disadvantages 
were  not   sufficient   to  load  the  poor  creature  with. 
hunureds  of  yarns  have  been  invented,  published,  and 
incorporated  in  authentic  natural  histories  concerning 
the  Shark,  of  which  it  is  only  stating  the  barest  fact  to 

S^them  "°'  °"'  ^''  ''"^'  °^  ^'''"'  ^'""^^  ^  S'^^"  °^  *^^^ 

,  H '^^^  ^^  admitted  also  as  part  of  the  indictment 
of  the  Shark,  that  he  is  an  eat.r  of  human  flesh,  and 
does  no    always  wait  until  the  subject  is  dead.     But 

th.r   n  r",  "°*  •     ^^  '"""°^  ^^  t°°  '^l^^^Jy  understood 
tnat  all  fish  are  omnixorous  as  regards  flesh  oi  fish 


Justice  for  Sharks 


99 


nothing  comes  amiss  to  them,  any  of  them.     But  to 
Miii^le  out  the  Shark  for  opprobrium  on  this  head  is 
ab.urd,  as  absurd  as  is  the  invention  of  such  idiotic 
stones  as  the  Shark  following  a  ship  at  sea  because  on 
board  there  ,s  one  sick.     Much  better  to  recognise  in 
the  Shark  an  evidence  of  the  eternal  wisdom  of  God 
Who  has  here  provided  a  race  of  large  creatures  in  the 
sea  possessed  of  an  amazing  appetite  and  absolutely 
ind...erent  to  the  quality  of  the  food  they  eat,  except 
t...t  .t  must  he  flesh  or  fish-hving  or  dead  matteVs 
n.th.ng.     And  in  the  agony  of  hunger,  for  agony  it 
nuL.t  be,  they  do  not  always  stop  to  make  sure  that 
what  they  are  swallowing  is  succulent  tlesh.     I  have 
•s.  en  a  Sliark  swallow  a  bag  of  cinders  flung  overboard 
purposely.     Consider  how  great  must  be  the  torment 
01  an  api)etite  that  can  thus  drive  a  carnivore  to  so 
Ditt.T  and  unsatisfying  a  morsel. 

N<nv,  having  stated  briefly  what  can  with  truth  and 
hon.jty  be  said  against  the  Shark,  let  us  consider  him 
a  l.ttK.  more  closely.  And  in  order  to  do  this  it  will  be 
n--~ary,  I  think,  to  use  a  httle  imagination,  yet 
iin.i-iiiation  restrained  by  fact. 

At  the  base  of  that  great  mountain  in  the  South 
^^-.antic,  whose  summit  is  named  on  the  charts  Fern- 
•^l-l-  .io  \oronha,  there  lay  side  by  side  in  the  cool 

t      :  f  """^  '''^'^  ^^'^y  ^'^^  *^"i«y^d  each  other's 

tt   t  no'f  T  ^  "'om.^^^^^ous  creatures  can,  and  now 

e   u„e  had  come  that  they  must  part.     For  the  rule 

,  ,   ";  ''"'';  ^'"'b^  >s  ^°Jitary  hunting,  or  if  crowds 

t;'-    at  a  banquet,  all  ties  for  the  tmie  are  merged 

:;,  :";;;"^'  °'''™''^'''"S  desire  for  food.     Whether 

;  ,v  V    ,      '7'  ""'"^  ''Sain  troubled  them  not  at  all- 

fcv'l !  Tr^:  '?^''''''  °^  ^°^'^  g^^^^t  i'^^^^y  who  are 
•r-Lled  about  the  future-but  they  felt  bitterly  the 


> 
z 


100 


The  Shark 


pn-^ont  paii^'  of  parting.  They  lay  side  by  side  all 
silently,  witli  fms  and  tails  gently  vibrating  and  con- 
veying all  that  they  needed  to  express  between  them. 
Suddenly  the  male  Shark  gave  one  great  sweep  of  his 
tail  and  was  gone.  Yet  not  so  swiftly  but  that  a  bright 
blue  spot  behind  him  had  darted  forward  and  taken  up 
Its  station  just  above  his  broad  snout  as  he  steadily 
plunged  southward  toward  tlie  roaring  forties. 

Only  a  little  time  elapsed,  and  then,  sedately  as 
became  a  matron  with  growing  responsibility,  the  lady 
Shark  got  under  way  also  and  proceeded  due  east. 
And  in  like  manner  as  at  the  departure  of  her  husband 
a  tiny  blue  form  shot  out  from  the  shadows  behind  her 
and  took  up  its  staticm  over  her  broad  nose.  She  was 
a  fine  specimen  of  the  Common  Shark,  about  nine  feet 
long  with  a  dark  grey  skin  and  a  dorsal  fin  (gafftopsail 
of  the  sailor)  that  when  she  neared  the  surface  stood 
up  nearly  a  foot  o  it  of  the  water.  Her  head  was 
eighteen  inches  acniss  and  the  upper  lobe  of  her  tail 
^•as  nearly  two  feet  long,  with  an  auxiliary  fin  on  it  six 
inches  deep.  She  was  six  years  old,  and  had  been 
round  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  as  many  times  as  she  had 
years  of  age,  and  yet  she  was  entirely  dependent  upon 
the  goodwill,  fidelity,  and  skill  of  that  tiny  blue  thing 
which  kei)t  its  position  above  her  nose  without  any 
apparent  movement  as  she  steadily  made  her  way  to 
the  east. 

It  was  a  '  pilot '  fish,  one  of  the  most  beautiful  as 
well  as  one  of  the  smallest  of  the  Scomhridac.  the  great 
mackiTel  family,  unique,  however,  in  its  str..nge  love 
for  the  society  of  the  Sliark  and  its  self-constituted 
pilotage  of  tint  great  fisii.  Here,  in  parenthesis,  I 
would  remark  upon  the  strange  way  in  wliich  men's 
minds  are  constituted.  The  fantastic  tales  about 
Sharks  before  noted  will  be  accepted  without  a  boggle 


ifr 


I 


A  Strange  Companionship      loi 

by  the  very  men  who  will  scornfully  reject  absolute 
farts  concerning  the  pilot  fish's  relation  to  the  Sh.irk. 
I  do  not  know  why,  nor  do  I  think  any  one  does.  For 
there  are  thousands  of  facts  in  natural  history  as  well 
authenticated  as  sunrise  and  sunset,  far  stranger  than 
\-i  this  bond  between  Shark  and  pilot-fish,  conctTning 
which  I  shall  only  use  facts  of  my  own  observation,  and 
none  whatever  of  hearsay. 

The  strangely  assorted  pair  proceeded  in  svmme- 
trical  order  for  some  hours  upon  a  course  as  definite 
as  if  laid  down  on  a  chart  and  steered  by  compass. 
And  while  they  were  thus  wending  their  way  together 
so  harmoniously  let  us  consider  brietly  the' pilot-fish, 
since  apart  from  his  association  with  the  Shark  he  has 
little  interest  for  us.     A  beautifully  shaped  little  fish, 
marked  with  transverse  bands  of  blue  and  gold— the  blue 
of  that  intensity  seen  only  in  fish  and  tinted  to  show 
.igainst  the  blue  of  the  sea.     A  pair  of  golden-rimmed 
eyes  keep  unwinking  watch  ahead,  and  the  golden  fins— 
tlorsal,  pectoral,  ventral,  and  caudal— srom  as  if  frozen 
stiff,  so  rapid  are  their  vibrations.     A  fish  built  for 
speed,  but  one  of  the  feeble  folk  of  the  deep  sea,  for 
he  is  only  about  eight  inelies  long.     But  why,  oh  why 
Joes  a  pretty  creature  like  that  attach  itself  to  the 
Shark  ?     As    the   Spaniards   are    so    fond   of   saying, 
Qnicn  sabc  ?     Here  the  answer  is,  must  be,  that  noi)ody 
knows,  nobody  can  know.     We  must  take  the  fa:ts  as 
we  find  them,  and  be  as  contented  as  we  can. 

Suddenly,  like  a  flash  of  blue  light,  the  little  fellow 
has  left  his  station.  So  swiftly  has  he  sped  that  the 
eye  can  hardly  follow  him.  He  reaches  a  huge  mass 
of  seaweed,  goes  round  it,  and  returning,  visits  first 
•lie  side  of  the  Shark's  face  and  then  the  other,  then 
I '-nines  his  station  just  over  the  nose.  Now,  during 
tic  time  of  the  pilot's  absence  the  Shark  has  never 


■    UJ 

Z 

f.:  3 


=^5 


102 


The  Shark 


swerved  from  her  course,  has  neither  accelerated  nor 
diminished  her  speed.  Apparently  she  has  perfect 
confidence  in  her  little  blue  attendant.  And  who 
possessing  any  observation  whatever,  can  doubt  that 
on  his  return  from  his  scouting  journey  the  pilot  has 
in  some  mysterious  way  conveved  a  message  something 
hke  this  :  '  I  smelt  something  good  ;  went  and  had  a 
look.  Nothing  but  a  bundle  of  seaweed  with  a  few 
miserable  little  fry  in  it.  No  use  to  you.'  I  have 
always  felt  sure  upon  seeing  such  a  manrcuvre  per- 
formed that  in  some  way  or  another,  I  know  not  nor 
can  I  speculate  how,  a  conversational  message  like 
that  has  passed  from  pilot  to  piloted. 

On.  ever  on,  by  day  and  by  night,  through  the  clear 
sea  not  far  from  the  surface,  the  strangely  assorted  pair 
proceed  with  occasional  deviations  on  the  pilot's  part 
in  chase  of  the  tiny  organisms  upon  which  this  little 
chubby  mackerel  lives.     But,  alas  !  for  his  huge  friend 
tunes  are  indeed  hard.     No  corrupting  mass  of  off;.l  in 
the  shape  of  some  dead  sea  monster  is  found  ;  nothing 
at  all  to  eat  for  two  days  with  the  demon  of  hunger 
savagely  gnawing  at  that  massive  liver  and  goading 
the  starving  creature  to  frenzy.     A  floating  log  covered 
with  parasitical  sea  growths  and  attended  by  a  swarm 
of  fish  of  many  kinds,  but  principally  dolphin,  cory- 
ph.ena,  and  skip-jack— another  species  of  mackerel- 
is  passed  within  a  mile  or  so.     Pilot  sets  off  at  top  speed 
to  reconnoitre,   Shark,   unable  to  wait,   follows,   and 
reaching  the  object,  launches  herself  fiercely  at  it  tearing 
at  the  solid  wood  as  if  she  would  compel  nutriment  to 
spring  from  it.     The  attendant  fish  vanish  affrightedly  • 
there  is  no  danger  of  any  of  them  feeling  those  lethal 
jaws    being  in  speed  and  agility  far  superior  to  any 

In  a  little  while  her  rage  moderates,  a  considerable 


The  Hunger  Search  103 

quantity  of  gelatinous  matter,  mostly  foot-stalks  of 
barnaclt  ■;  torn  off  the  log,  have  gone  down  into  \wr 
.nhing  I., aw,  which  it  api)eases,  though  it  does  not 
satisfy.  When  suddenly  the  little  pilot,  which  has 
been  Hitting  about  at  a  little  distance  from  its  prim  ii),ii 
agit.itedly  watcliing  her  man(euvres,  darts  off  to  ihi- 
southward,  followed  closely  by  the  Shark.  By  what 
amazing  powers  of  intuition  or  of  sight  this  little 
creature  knows  that  some  miles  away  there  lies  a 
ship  I  do  not  know,  I  only  know  that  such  powers  as 
enable  it  to  be  assured  of  such  a  presence  at  that 
distance  it  does  possess.  That  it  sliould  know  of 
the  peculiar  quality  ships  have  of  shedding  choice 
morsels  in  their  wake  may  be  merely  a  matter  of 
memory,  such  as  most  deep-sea  pelagic  fish  have, 
making  them  seek  and  keep  the  company  of  slow- 
moving  or  stationary  ships  for  many  days  at  a  time. 
Presently  they  come  up  with  the  vessel  and  pass  under 
tlie  shade  of  her  broad  bilge,  snil'ling  at  the  smell  she 
gives  forth  of  something.  Several  of  the  Shark's  poor 
relatives,  the  semi-parasitical  Rcmorae  or  suckers, 
hastily  detach  themselves  from  the  ship  and  dart 
away  into  the  depths,  compelled  to  action  for  once 
by  the  knowledge  that  otherwise  they  will  immediately 
be  devoured.  Round  and  round  the  ship  they  go, 
the  pilot,  in  a  high  state  of  excitement,  darting  to  and 
fro  between  Shark  and  ship  as  if  carr  ing  perpetual 
messages,  while  the  Shark's  cold  greenish  eyes  rover 
cease  their  steadfast  gaze  upon  that  vast  shadow 
which  may  presently  yield  something  to  eat. 

Meanwhile,  some  of  tlie  sailors  aloft  have  caught 
sight  of  that  stealthy  form  gliding  along  beneath 
them,  and,  in  spite  of  their  modernity,  feel  cold  chills 
creeping  down  their  spines  as  they  view  the  messenger, 
as  they   think,  of  evil.      We  are  heirs  of  the  ages, 


a: 


104 


The   Shark 


inhcritinf;  tlicir  wisdom,  but,  alas!  how  many  of  us, 

partially  instructed  or  careless  of  learning,  and  devoid 

of  that  most  uncommon  of  all  qualities,  common-sense, 

find  that  we  hold  in   mortmain  an   awful  legacy  of 

superstition  and  cruelty  that  has  come  down   to  us 

untinctured   by  any  spirit   of  love,   of  mercy,   or  of 

progress  !     So  these  sailors  do  really  believe  that  the 

presence  of  that  Shark  means  that  one  of  them  will 

presently  fall  sick  and  die,  or  that  one  of  them  will  fall 

overboard  and  be  devoured,  and  that  the  Shark  knows 

thi;.,  and  has  come  purposely  from  he  knows  not  what 

part  of  the  ocean  for  this  terrible  bequest.     And  one  of 

those  sailors,  a  young  man,  awfully  ignorant,  steeped 

to  the  lips  in  superstition,  which  in  the  ignorant  nearly 

always  takes  the  place  of  Christianity,  whether  in  a 

rdigious  form  or  otherwise,  trembles  so  that  he  misses 

his  footing  and,   with  a  mad  clutching  at  vacancy, 

falls  a  hundred  feet  or  so  into  the  sea.     There  is  a  wild 

running  to  and  fro,  a  frantic  tearing  at  boats'  gripes 

rusted  firm  by  months  of  disuse  ;   but  before  the  boat 

is  freed  from  her  trammels,  it  is  remarked  that,  calm 

t'luugh  the  sea  is,  our  shipmate  is  nowhere  to  be  seen. 

And  the  boat  is  not  lowered— there  is  no  reed. 

Far  beneath  the  surface,  the  Shark  is  finishing  her 
meal,  the  first  really  satisfying  one  she  has  had  for 
three  days  ;  and  who  shall  say  that  she  docs  not  feel 
grateful  to  some  invisible,  non-understandable  Power 
who  has  provided  it  ?  But  in  the  hearts  of  all  on 
board  there  is  p  dull,  solemn  feeling  of  hatred  for  the 
unconscious  scavenger  of  the  deep  sea  who  happened 
to  be  on  the  spot  at  the  right  time  to  eat  a  man  who 
fell  overboard  and  was  killed  by  the  impact  of  the 
water.  So  that  when,  next  morning,  again  hungry, 
the  Shark  cruises  around,  great  preparations  rre  ma  'e 
to  prevent  this  hideous,  man-destroying  monster  from 


Maternity  v.  Hunger         105 


rnmmitting  any  more  crime.  A  four-pound  piece  of 
pork  is  stuck  upon  a  great  hook  riveted  to  a  foot  of 
stout  chain,  which  is  secured  to  a  rope  strong  enough 
to  hft  a  ton.  Tliis  is  lowered  over  the  stern  and  then 
-plaslu'd  up  and  down  once  or  twice.  In  a  moment 
tlic  httle  pilot  is  there,  cpiivering  with  excitement, 
nosing  the  meat,  darting  off  a  little  way  .ind  returning, 
with  a  curious  undecided  air.  At  last  lie  vanishes, 
returning  in  another  minute  with  the  Shark  following 
slowly.  She  comes  up  to  the  bait,  turns  slowly  on 
litr  back,  sinking  slightly  until  the  bait  is  just  entering 
the  glistening  cavity  of  her  mouth,  and  then  the  second 
mate,  who  has  been  watching  her  movements  with 
almost  feverish  anxiety,  being  young,  makes  a  grab 
at  the  rope,  and  the  bait  Icai^s  out  of  the  water. 

The  anxiety  of  the  pilot  at  this  strange  phenomenon 
is  almost  painful  to  witness.  He  seems  to  know  that 
all  is  not  well,  and  his  passing  to  and  fro  between  the 
Shark  and  the  newly  lowered  bait  is  like  tlie  glinting 
of  summer  lightning.  For  some  time  the  Shark 
hesitates — that  compact  mass  of  pork  is  so  tempting 
—but  at  last,  as  if  suddenly  making  up  her  mind, 
Mi.stress  Shark  turns  at  right  angles  to  the  sliip  and 
hastens  slowly  away.  A  greater  power  than  even 
hunger  has  called  her,  and  lU'xt  morning,  at  daybreak, 
sees  her  lying  quietly  upon  the  waves  at  the  surface 
of  the  sea  surrounded  by  sixteen  Sharkl'ts,  among 
whom  the  pilot  moves  with  a  comical  air  of  proprietor- 
-Iiip.  And  they,  the  new-comers,  take  no  heed  of 
the  busy,  friemlly  little  creature  until,  with  a  leap 
I:':.e  that  of  a  dolphin,  he  herds  the  lively  group  to- 
L;ether  and  leads  the  way  down  the  Shark's  gaping 
mouth  into  the  h.aven  of  refuge  she  provides  for  her 
young  It  was  only  the  advent  of  a  hungry  male 
Shark,   a  lithe   sinister   brute,   who,    to   the   mother. 


in 


r.r  3 

■J  ^ 


^5 


io6 


The   Shark 


loomed  large  as  a  veritable  demon  of  destruction  to 
her  offspring,  for,  strange  as  it  may  appear  to  most 
people,  the  Shark  is  a  mor^t  loving  parent,  and  although 
she  can  only  shelter  her  young  within  her  body,  not 
knowing  how  to  protect  tliem  by  figliting  for  them, 
she  is  nevertheless  torn  by  anxiety  on  their  behalf. 

Now  for  many  days  slie  has  no  rest  at  all.  With  th: 
solicitude  of  a  mother-hen  for  her  chicks,  she  watches 
over  that  group  of  Sharklings,  sheplierded  by  the  pilot, 
whom  they  arc  rapidly  outgrowing,  sheltered  in  her 
bosom  and  fed  ;  yes,  fed,  thougli  often  the  mother 
feels  as  if  vultures  were  tearing  at  her  liver,  until  at 
last  there  comes  a  day  when  the  youngsters,  having 
grown  sufficiently  to  take,  and  make,  their  own  way 
through  this  watery  world,  leave  her  one  by  one  and 
melt  into  the  void,  to  lead  henceforward  an  indepen- 
dent existence  in  that  great  ocean  world,  and  the 
deserted  mother  seeks  another  mate  who  may  provide 
her  with  a  new  family  to  suffer  for  and  be  deserted 
by  in  their  due  turn. 

In  the  few  preceding  pages  I  have  dealt  with  the 
Shark  as  if  there  were  only  one  kind,  although  I  did 
carefully  mention  the  fact  that  there  were  others  of 
the  same  family.  But,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  there  are 
more  varieties  of  the  Shark  family  than  of  any  other 
fish  family  living,  with  the  possible  exception  of  the 
mackerel.  I  have  never  been  able  to  reckon  up  liow 
many  Sharks  there  are  of  distinctly  different  cha- 
racteristics, but  an  enormous  number  there  certainly 
are,  all  characterised  by  the  one  feature,  that  of 
enormous  eaters  of  garbage.  Sharks  with  wide  mouths, 
armed  with  seven  rows  of  teeth,  each  an  inch  long,  and 
with  triangular  edges  saw-toothed,  finer  than  anv 
surgical  instrument  ever  made.  Sharks  with  wide 
mouths,  armed  with  fifty  rows  of  needle-like  teeth. 


2 

3 


to  y 


i:Ul-:  AUK  .MORK  VAKIKTIKS  OF  THE  SHAlfK  FA.\1I1-V 
THAN   OF   ANY   OTHKK   FISH    FA.\HLV    LIVINO/ 


Curious  Sharks 


07 


the  use  of  which  one  can  only  conjecture,  and  Sharks 
whose  vast  jaws  are  lined  within  with  a  sort  of  curious 
mosaic  of  pearly  surface,  as  i'  the  mouth  were  a  mill 
in  which  could  be  ground  jr  tritu-ated  the  most 
obstinate  substances.  Indeed,  the  arrangement  of 
these  palatal  and  labial  plates  in  some  of  the  Sharks 
is  a  matter  for  profoundcst  admiration.  Nothing 
like  it  can  be  seen  in  any  other  animal  in  the  wide 
world. 

Then  there  * 3  the  wondrous  Saw-fish  (Pristis),  a  most 
amazing  Shark,  abounding  in  Eastern  seas,  who  has 
grown  from  his  skull,  right  out  before  him,  a  flat  mass 
of  stiff  cartilage  edged  with  ivory  teeth,  set  at  regular 
intervals  of  about  three  quarters  of  an  inch.  For 
some  strange  reason,  which  I  do  not  pretend  to  fathom, 
this  curious  weapon  has  come  to  be  confounded  with 
the  sword  of  the  Sword-fish  {Xiphias),  which  I  have 
already  described,  and  in  country  houses  where  there 
are  one  or  two  specimens  i.anging  in  the  hall,  the  visitor 
is  calmly  invited  to  view  the  weapon  with  wliich  ships 
are  sunk  !  No  one  seems  to  consider  that  even  if  the 
saw  (not  sword)  were  made  of  tempered  steel,  instead 
of  stiffened  cartilage,  it  would  be  impossible  for  any 
force  behind  it  to  drive  it  into  anything  tougher  than 
fat,  because  there  is  no  point  to  it ;  a  sort  of  snout, 
slightly  turned  up  at  tlie  end,  terminates  it ;  and 
again,  the  saw-like  arrangement  of  the  teeth  on  each 
side  of  it  preclude  the  idea  of  its  being  a  piercing 
weapon.  No,  its  function,  though  gruesome  enougli, 
is  not  that  of  sinking  ships  by  perforating  their  bilges. 
This  particular  shark  has  a  wide  mouth,  lined  with 
from  forty  to  sixty  rows  of  infinitesimal,  needle-like 
teeth.  He  is  a  specialist  in  food,  and  although  not 
averse  to  mumbling  decaying  carrion,  should  it  come 


9 

is 

2 


3 


v» 


1 


,_   ^t  j;-. 


,u 11: 


io8 


The   Shark 


fish  by  ri  push  of  his  saw  beneath  them,  and  then 
nuzzhim  in  the  soft  entrails,  the  only  food  that  he  really 
cares  ahnut.  These  Sharks  grow  to  a  length  of  fifteen 
feet  and  weight  of  a  ton. 

Then  there  is  the  Thresher  Shark,  with  which  I 
have  dealt  pretty  fully  in  the  chapter  on  the  Mysticctw;, 
tlie  sole  priT.li.iritv  of  which  is  the  abnormally  long 
upper  lobe  to  his  tail,  used  as  a  sort  of  flail  wherewith 
to  beat  the  hapless  mammal.  Sharks  of  weird  anpect 
but  of  no  large  capacity  of  mouth  aboimd  also  in  the 
great  depths  of  the  sea,  and  are  only  bronglit  to  the 
surface  in  a  more  or  less  mutilated  condition,  owing 
to  the  tremendous  change  of  pressure  during  their 
passage  upward. 

But  one  of  the  most  interesting  of  the  Shark  tribe 
is  the  parasitical  or  semi-parasitical  Rcmora.  This 
small  shark  (seven  pounds  weight  is  about  their 
maximum)  lias  an  extraordinary  arrangement  on  the 
top  of  its  head  wliic-h  is  perfectly  flat)  whereby  it  can 
attach  itself  so  hrnily  to  any  floating  body  as  not  to 
be  detachable  by  any  force  applied  except  at  the  cost 
of  rending  the  fish  asunder — unless  one  knows  the 
trick  which  the  hsh  itself  uses,  in  which  case  the  creature 
is  detached  in  a  moment  without  difTiculty,  and  darts 
off  at  a  high  speed  to  find  some  other  host  to  which 
it  may  attach  itself.  A  ship  or  a  whale  matters  little, 
— its  object  is  to  be  carried  along  in  the  immediate 
vicinity  of  food  which  it  may  obtain  by  merely  opening 
its  mouth  and  closing  it  at  intervals.  I  have  already 
noted  the  suckers'  delightful  (juarters  in  the  mouth  of 
a  right  whale,  adhering  to  the  palate  with  its  head 
pointed  in  the  direction  from  whence  the  whale  s  ff)od 
enters,  so  that  it  easilv  receives  tithe  of  all  without 
the  slightest  effort  on  its  part  to  obtain  it.  So  yu 
shall  find  a  whole  family  of  Remorae  attached  to  one 


Appetite  E  itraordinary        lOQ 

whale— outsiae  or  inside  matters  little— all  contented 
and  happy  in  their  utter  dependence  upon  their  gigantic 
host.  Even  certain  huge  specimens  of  tlieir  own  race 
lind  them  shelter  occasionally,  for  Dr.  Gunther  records 
an  mstance  of  a  huge  Shark  of  a  harmless  kind  whose 
teeth  were  covered  with  membrane  and  who  gave 
shelter  in  its  mouth  to  a  whole  colony  of  Rcmorae. 
To  this  very  queer  tish  he  gave  the  name  of  Rhinodon 

t\pirus. 

Of  the   voracity   of   the   family  generally   I   have 
already  said  a  little,  but  I  feel  impelled  to  return  to 
the  .subject  for  a  brief  space,  because  it  is  one  that  can 
hanlly  be  realised  by  shore  people  at  all.     Let  me  try 
and  express  my  meaning  as  simply  and  brielly  as  pos- 
slblr.     We  once  caught  a  humpback  wliale   in   Vau 
Vau  which  sank  as  we  were  preparing  to  tov  it  to  the 
ship,  i.e.  passing  a  rope  through   its  lips.     The  sun 
had  set  and  the  swift  tropical  twilight  had  descended, 
so  that  we  saw  it  was  useless  to  attempt  the  long  weary 
ta-^k  of  raising  our  spoil  from  the  coral  bed  on  v.-hich 
It  liad  settled  before  daylight  ne.xt  morning.     So  one 
boat  lay  by  the  carcase  all  night— it  was  only  twenty- 
live  fathoms  down— and  watched  with  crawly  sensa- 
tions the  brilliant  bunds  of  green  light  beneath,  showing 
where  th'_  great  scavengers  came  and  went.     It  was 
a  very  long  night,  and  many  an  inaudible  prayer  was 
put  up  during  those  hours  of  darkness,  I  know.     At 
last  day  dawned  and  work  commenced  immediately. 
I  need  "not  describe  the  tedious  process  of  raising  a 
whale  from  the  bottom  by  the  aid  o.'         uple  of  boats 
—it  is  a  weary  job.     .^t  last,  howevc ,  ere  gratified 

to  iind  the  great  weight  beneath  bnoming  ligiiter  and 
lighter  until  at  last,  with  almost  a  bound,  the  huge 
bndy  reached  thf^  surface.  It  was  the  centre  of  a  host 
of  ravenous  Sharks,  some  of  them  as  long  as  one  of  our 


> 


no 


The  Shark 


whaleboats,  and  all  of  them  were  tearing  at  the  body 
as  if  they  had  fasted  for  years  and  their  first  meal  was 
now  about  to  be  taken  from  them.  It  had  only  been 
at  their  mercy  r  about  eight  hours  ;  and  it  was  half 
gone  ;  that  is  to  say,  in  that  brief  time  these  useful 
sea-scavengers  had  eaten  about  thirty  tons  of  mea 
blubber,  and  bone,  a.id  were  now  apparently  as  un- 
satisfied as  ever.  We  started  to  tow,  feeling  that  it 
was  hardly  worth  while,  and  accompanied  by  an 
uncountable  horde  of  the  devourers,  but  after  towing 
for  an  hour  were  compelled  to  let  go,  because  we  were 
drifting  on  to  a  reef.  And  I  was  right  glad.  I  felt 
sure  that  by  the  time  we  arrived  at  the  sliip — another 
six  or  ei;;ht  hours — we  should  have  had  only  our  labo'^r 
for  our  pains. 

A  whole  wealth  of  literature  lies  in  the  discussion 
of  the  Raiiae,  those  homely,  shark-like  creatures  whose 
flesh  is  so  highly  esteemed  by  the  London  poor,  where 
fried  skate  is  a  morsel  to  be  delighted  in  when  served 
up  in  penn'orths  with  crisp  fried  potatoes.  The  terrible 
Sting  Ray  of  tropicpl  seas,  whose  tail  is  a  flexible  rod 
set  with  razor  blades  secured  diagonally,  and  is  used 
as  an  instrument  of  correction  by  the  South-sea  trader 
upon  his  wives,'  and  the  no  less  terrible  Alligator 
Guard  of  the  Mexican  Gulf,  a  fearsome  monster  some 
sixty  square  feet  in  area  and  with  a  peculiar  twist 
for  leaping  out  of  the  water  after  dark.  One  hardly 
knows  where  to  draw  the  line  in  dealing  with  this 
extraordinary  family  of  universal  rangers  of  the  deep 
sea ;  the  feeling  will  force  itself  in  that  not  a  chapter 
or  so  is  needed,  but  a  whole  volume  each,  to  describe 
the  beings  and  doings  of  one  f:sh  family. 

I  dismiss  as  utterly  unworthy  of  any  notice  what- 
CYcr  ail  the  stories  that  have  been  told  of  the  Shark's 
'  Vide  Louis  Becke,  By  Reei  and  Palm, 


I 

\ 


\ 


A  Plea  for  the   Shark         III 

ir.Tvito  ferocity  and  calculating  devilishness.  As  I 
Uw.  often  had  the  pleasure  in  saying,  tlie  Sluirk  eats 
man,  not  because  he  loves  man  to  eat,  but  because  man 
wlun  lie  fcdls  overboard  is  usually  easy  to  get.  If  the 
r  ,:i  hi'  a  good  noisy  swimni.  i',  no  Shark  will  venture 
r.  I.  for  they  are,  though  tormented  with  hunger, 
a  hiu^t  nervous  and  timid  race,  and,  indeed,  alw.iys 
seem  to  me  to  lose  a  great  many  opportunities  through 
dit1iden':e.  I  do  not  love  the  Shark  in  any  of  his 
varieties,  but  I  do  :  )ve  justice,  and  so,  in  spite  of  my 
predilections  against  the  Shark,  I  have  endeavoured 
to  write  of  him  (or  her)  fairly,  as  I  would  wish  to  be 
written  about  myself  if  I  were  a  Shark.  I  am  very 
gild  I  am  not. 

A  very  large  section  of  the  Shark  family  live  at 
iiiiniense  depths.     So  it  has  been  discovered  of  late 
ve.irs  by   the  indefatigable  labours  of  such   men   as 
Messrs.  Goode  and  Bean,  of  the  Smithsonian  Institute 
at  Washington,  and  the  Italian  professors  who  ha\  - 
nule  oceanic  ichthyology  their  special  study.     But, 
unhkf  most  of  the  deep-sea  fishes,  as  opposed  to  the 
f  irfue  or  near-the-surface   fish,   the  Sharks  do  not 
c  I't-.n.'    themselves    to    the    profunaities.     They    ap- 
par^nilv    seek    those    mysterious    depths    to    breed— 
ritiiy  <".{  them  deposit  their  eggs  in  carefully  adapted 
ri  ir^s  of  toughened  membrane  so  arranged  that  they 
..ill  open  of  themselves  at  the  right  time,  then,  having 
provided  for  the  continuation  of  the  species  as  far  as 
tliey  arc  concerned,  they  return  to  the  surface.     Others 
.ri;  iui  spend  all  their  time  in  the  depths,  e.xccpt  when 
the  f.miily  is  coming,  at  which  time  they  ascend  into 
tlie  upper  and  warmer  strata.     For  it  cannot  be  too 
c.:!  f  illv  noted  that  below  a  depth  of  about  a  hundred 
lith-iiis  the  temperature  of  the  sea  is  the  same  every- 
Vherc  from  Pole  to  Pole.     The  exceptions  to  "^his  rule 


s^ 


112 


The   Shark 


are  the  burstinp-iip  places  whore  boihng  springs  arise 
from  subteriMiuan  tires  and  of  necessity  raise  tlio 
temperature  of  the  surrounding  sea  ;  or  the  outlets 
of  submarine  volcanoes  fiercely  struggling  to  assert 
their  destructive  power  against  the  unthinkable  ma^s 
of  superincumbent  water.  Apart  from  these  excep- 
tions, the  temperature  of  the  sea  below  one  hundred 
fathoms  is  about  thirty-one  degrees  Fahrenheit,  or 
just  above  the  freezing-point  of  salt  water. 

But  we  are  neglecting  our  Sharks,  who,  with  an 
adaptability  sliown  by  no  otlier  hsh,  come  and  go 
between  the  surface  and  depths  of  four  to  five  thousand 
feet.  Especially  the  Rays,  who  in  all  their  varieties 
are  great  travellers  up  and  down,  being  found  at  all 
depths  from  ten  to  one  thousand  fathoms.  And 
unlike  the  usual  deep-sea  denizens  they  do  not  acquire 
any  very  great  alterations  of  physique  ;  to  be  sure, 
the  ordinary  Skate  is  sulficientlv  hideous  for  anything. 
I  vividly  remember,  wlim  second  mate  of  the  '  Har- 
binger '  in  TabU'  Iiay,  some  twenty-two  years  ago, 
fishing  for  craw-h^h  with  an  impro\ised  net  made  of 
spun  yarn  netted  on  to  a  big  iron  honp.  Feeling  a 
great  jjrking  at  the  rope,  I  called  for  help,  and  we 
hauled  to  the  surface  a  Skate  full}'  si.x  feet  across 
from  tip  to  tip  of  his  '  wings.'  lie  was  far  too  large 
and  lieavy  to  be  hauled  on  board  like  that,  so  we 
harpooned  him,  and  after  a  Icjng  struggle  succeeded 
in  getting  him  aboard. 

He  lay  on  deck,  a  thing  of  utter  hideousness  in  form 
and  colour,  so  much  so  that  after  ga/ing  upon  him  for 
a  little  wliile,  tlie  rei)ul>ivene>s  of  the  creature  made 
me  feel  ([uite  ill.  And  the  great  mouth  lined  with 
teeth  just  like  ours,  opening  and  sliutting  convulsively, 
looked  appallingly  human.  I  w.is  roused  from  my 
sluidderiiig  lit   by   the  sight  of  one  of  the  boys  just 


An  Object'Lesson 


113 


offering  to  put  his  finger  in  the  mouth.  I  pulled  him 
.iwciy,  and  holding  him  by  the  arm,  inserted  a  stick 
of  wood  an  inch  square  into  that  quivering  cavity. 
Instantly  the  jaws  closed,  there  was  a  grinding  sound, 
and  the  stick  fell  in  two  halves,  bitten  through  as 
cleanly  as  a  horse  bites  a  carrot.  The  boy  had  learned 
his  lesson.  That  Skate  became  the  prev  of  the  sailors, 
who  much  appreciated  him  fried,  and  although  we 
luid  a  fairly  large  cr  w  there  was  enough  meat  on  his 
wings  to  give  them  a  good  supper  and  breakfast. 

Here  we  will  leave  the  Sharks  ,  for,  although  I 
have  said  practically  nothing  of  the  Dog  Fish,  I  feel 
that  there  is  not  really  sufficient  distinction  between 
them  and  the  usual  Shark  to  warrant  any  detailed 
remarks  about  them.  The  Dog-hsh  is  just  a  small 
shark. 


Ml 


CHAPTER    XI 
THE   TURTLE 


HERE  we  come  upon  a  deep-sea  denizen  that  occu- 
pies an  ahiKJSt  unique  {xjsition  among  his  fellows, 
in  that  he  has  no  enemies  but  man.  The  exceptions 
being  the  sperm  whale  and  the  sea  elephant,  as  I  have 
before  noted.  This  freedom  from  the  fear  of  instant 
death  at  the  mouth  of  a  fellow-citizen  is  so  unusual 
among  the  deep-sea  people  that  when  an  exception 
comes  it  makes  itself  noticeable.  But  not  only  does  the 
Turtle  commend  itself  to  us  as  unique  in  this  respect,  it 
is  also  one  of  the  strangest  of  aU  the  amphibia.  The 
whales  must  come  to  the  surface  frequently  to  breathe, 
and  we  know  fairly  well  upon  what  they  feed.  The  seal 
cannot  remain  beneath  the  sea  nearly  as  long  as  the 
whale,  and  his  food  is  very  well  known  ;  but  the  Turtle, 
in  all  his  varieties,  in  all  his  ways,  is  mysterious  beyond 
the  power  of  superlatives  to  express.  It  does  not  seem 
to  matter  to  him  whether  he  stays  beneath  the  surface 
for  an  hour  or  a  week,  nor  does  it  tronbi  him  to  spend 
an  equal  time  on  land,  if  the  need  arises.  He  is  neither 
fish,  flesh,  nor  fowl,  yet  his  flesh  partakes  of  the  charac- 
teristics of  all  three.  Eating  seems  a  mere  superfluity 
with  him,  since  for  weeks  at  a  time  he  may  be  headed 
up  in  a  barrel  (with  the  bung  out)  and  emerge  at  the 
long  last  apparently  none  the  worse  for  his  enforced 
abstinence  from  food,  from  light,  and  almost  from  air. 
His  range  is  restricted  to  the  temperate  and  tropical 

"4 


t.-: 


The  Turtle  Pair 


"5 


seas,  and  is  extended  or  contracted  according  to  the 

St  ason. 

And,  finally,  as  a  close  to  this  brief  introduction, 
it  may  truly  be  said  that  of  all  the  higher,  warm-blooded 
organisms,  there  are  none  so  tenacious  of  life  as  the 
Turtle.  Injuries  that  would  be  instantly  fatal  to  fish 
tVir  leave  the  Turtle  apparently  undisturbed,  his 
jHiucr  of  keeping  death  at  bay  being  nothing  short  of 
marvellous.  Also,  it  is  a  matter  for  very  great  wonder 
how  closely  he  is  allied  to  the  tortoises  of  the  land, 
leading  lives  totally  different  to  his,  yet  in  all  but  a 
few  minor  details  precisely  the  same  in  structure. 

However,  we  must  leave  generalities  and  come  to 
particular  instances.  There  are  two  varieties  of  Turtle 
which  furnish  us  with  our  most  interesting  e.xamples, 
and  it  is  with  one  of  these  that  I  wish  now  to  deal,  the 
Sphiir<^a  coriacea,  a  common  ocean  Turtle  frequenting 
the  North  Atlantic  and  Pacific,  even  as  far  north 
occasionally  as  the  coast  of  Britain,  and  attaining  a 
ueiu'ht  of  one  thousand  pounds.  A  pair  of  them  lay 
basking  in  the  blazing  sunshine  of  the  northern  tropic, 
niarly  midway  between  Africa  and  America.  Their 
Ijroad  carapaces  shone  in  the  sun's  glare  like  burnished 
f^old,  and  occasionally  they  lifted  their  heads  out  of 
the  sea  and  gazed  around  as  if  in  search  of  something. 
l-Jut  t!ie  fact  is  that  they  were  ill  at  ease. 

The  female  felt  the  need  laid  upon  her  of  making  for 
a  familiar  sjjut  she  knew  of  to  ease  herself  of  that  load 
of  eL,'i;s  she  carried,  and  the  male,  while  hating  to  part 
With  her,  felt  an  almost  equally  strong  desire  to  remain 
where  he  was.  Such  food  as  he  needed  was  abundant, 
}ia— ing  ships  were  few,  and  they  were  the  only  things 
h''  tilt  any  fear  of,  so  with  the  usual  selfishness  of  the 
mile  he  found  a  grievance  in  that  his  partner  must 
lea\e  him.     Their  communication  of  ideas  and  view3 


'.0 


as  • 


ii6 


The  Turtle 


l.istrd  .ill  nif,'Iit,  tlioiii'Ii  to  the  human  cyo  they  were  just 
a  pair  of  >Iu,l;.;i^1i  1  ui  tic  lyiii^  sidv  by  side  in  profoundest 
sik'nci",  and  witliDut  a  movement,  save  tliat  imparted 
to  them  bv  the  tiny  wavdcts  of  that  quiet  sea.  As  the 
d.iwii  broke  she  turned  her  head  west  ,.ard  as  if  by  some 
irresistible  ini;)uL-.e,  her  four  broad  llijipers  swayed  with 
a  rhythmical  motion,  and  she  darted  forward,  trans- 
formed iustcuitlv  fiom  an  image  of  slothful  ease  into  an 
embodiment  of  suj)erabundant  ener^'y,  cleavint^  the 
blue  waves  at  the  r.ite  iA  about  ei-hteen  miles  an  hour. 
No  one  who  has  not  seen  the  Turtle  in  a  hurry  can 
possibly  underhand  how  so  apparently  clumsy  a 
creature  can  cl.a\e  the  waves  at  such  a  rate.  It  is  a 
revelation  of  the  methods  of  Mother  Nature. 

But  she  is  j;one,  and  Mr.  Spharf.;a  remains  basking 
alone.  \\\>  can  onlv  guess  at  his  feelings  at  being  thus 
deserted,  knowing  nothing  of  the  imjierative  maternal 
claims  swaymg  the  m^vmients  of  his  .spouse.  Hour 
after  hour  passes,  and  still  he  lies  motionless,  his 
back  just  awash,  and  his  head  sunk  beneath  the  sur- 
face, his  eyes  closed,  and  his  four  broad  paddles 
hanging  down  motionh  ss. 

'  Captain  James,  there's  a  fine  Turtle  asleep  just  a 
little  on  th(^  port  bow.  We're  hardly  movin',  don't 
you  think  we  might  lower  a  boat  and  see  if  we  can't  get 
him?  I  know  ju^t  the  trick  of  it.  I've  harpooned  lots 
of  'em  in  the  South  Pacific  when  I  was  whalin'  there.' 

*  All  right,  Mr.  Smith  ;  go  ahead  and  wish  you  luck.' 

The  fme  old  baniue  is  rounded  to  (there's  hardiv 
enough  wind  to  do  it)  and  the  brisk  young  second  mate, 
infectmg  the  members  of  his  watch  with  his  own  en- 
thusiasm, gets  the  boat  in  tl.e  water  in  about  ten 
minutes.  He  takes  the  harpoon  which  he  has  properly 
bridled  long  ago  and  whispers  instructions  to  his  crew 
how  to  paddle  quietly  and  obey  the  wave  of  his  hand. 


Homeward  Bound 


117 


V.ry  creep  up  bcliiiul  tlir  du/inL,',  li-tlcs?,  and  deserttd 
^■'luir'^ii,  the  sicoiul  niitc  rises  stillly  to  his  fct-t,  raises 
hi~  iron  and  crasli  !  it  has  j^icrced  calipee  and  rahpa>h, 
nur  can  any  struc,'i:,ding  on  I'le  part  of  the  impaled  one 
rrirase  him  from  that  awful  barb.  A  consider.ible 
wrestling  ensues  before  the  massive  prize  can  be  hoi>,ted 
into  the  boat,  brt  it  is  effected  without  a  capsi/e,  and 
presently,  flushed  with  his  triumph,  Mr.  Smith  reports 
himself  to  his  skipper  and  the  treasure  is  handed  over  to 
the  cook. 

Meanwhile  the  fli-eing  spouse  is  makintj  record  time 
towards  her  objective.  Swimming  just  beneath  the 
surface  she  makes  no  ripple  al)(n-e,  only  a  broad  baud 
of  li-htmarks  her  passage, andall  the  hungrv .sea-people, 
attracted  by  tlic  glare,  make  resj)ectful  way  for  her. 
They  are  ravenous,  but  she  is  in\  ulnerable.  The 
brnad  fans  of  her  paddles  beat  upon  the  sea  with  a 
rci;nlarity  akin  to  that  of  the  propeller  of  a  steamship, 
and  apparently  as  untiringly,  until  on  the  second  morn- 
ing she  reaches  the  shining  beach  on  one  of  the  (irena- 
dmes  which  she  has  all  along  been  aiming  at,  guided  by 
that  mysterious  homing  instinct  of  vhich  mere  humans 
know  nothing.  A  tiny  surf  curdles  round  tlie  snow-white 
s.md,  a  golden  globe  hangs  in  the  sapphire  sky,  when 
alone,  and  amid  a  perfect  silence  the  great  Turtle  drags 
liLiM  If  cumbrously  up  just  beyond  high-water  mark. 

This  is  one  of  the  secret  places  of  the  Almighty. 
Far  from  all  the  iniquities  of  man's  devising,  here  is 
only  beauty  and  peace  as  at  the  dawning  of  creation 
wlieii  first  the  new-made  earth  arose  from  the  enlight- 
ened sea.  Only  a  few  timorous  little  birds  watched  the 
upward  progress  of  the  Turtle,  and  expressed  their 
dbapproval  of  her  intrusion  in  quavering  notes  hardly 
audible.  Suddenly  stopping,  she  changed  from  a 
lethargic  weariful  attitude  to  one  of  furious  activity. 


id 

-2 


ii8 


The  Turtle 


The  four  f!ippor<;  fling  thrnT^clvcs  as  chcy  did  on  the 
passage,  the  sand  flics  aro\ind  in  a  dense  shower,  ahnost 
hke  a  fog.  until  the  central  toiler  is  hidden  from  view. 
When  at  last  the  smother  subsides  she  is  down  in  a  pit 
of  her  own  digging  and  the  work  of  egg-laying  has  begup.. 
It  lasts  for  two  days,  and  then  cartfully  clambering  out 
of  that  sandv  hole  wliere  snugly  lie  one  hundred  and 
fifty  round  white  eggs,  the  weary  mother  di'votes  her 
remaining  energies  to  hlling  in  the  pit,  burying  her 
treasures  beneath  a  foot  of  loose  sand.  This  completed 
she  lumbers  painfully  down  to  the  sea  and  laundies 
herself  into  sublime  peace  on  the  bosom  of  the  universal 
mother,  her  task  well  done,  her  rest  well  won. 

Day  by  day  the  great  sun  sheds  his  life-giving  beams 
upon  that  spot  where,  covered  in  beneath  undistinguish- 
able  sand,  lie  the  family  of  the  Turtle  Does  she  wonder 
what  has  become  of  them  ?  Do  tlie  fish  who  slicd  their 
roe  in  uncountable  millions  ever  feel  a  pang  of  maternal  [ 
care  ?  Who  can  tell  ?  The  mystery  of  motherhood 
is  so  profound  that  one  does  not  care  to  speculate. 
For  instance,  I  have  a  hen  who  has  just  hatched  a  brood 
of  ducklings.  As  best  I  can  I  have  isolated  her  in  a 
spacious  wire-fenced  run  from  the  many  enterprising 
chicks  which  are  running  loosely,  about  a  hundred  of 
them.  In  spite  of  all  my  care  these  chicks  do  get  in 
with  the  ducklings  and  the  mother-hen,  generous 
cr'^ature,  forbids  them  not,  allows  them  to  share  her 
food,  and  when  I  drive  them  out,  sets  up  an  outcry  as  if 
they  were  her  very  own.  But  one  day  last  week  one  of 
the  ducklings  got  ou",  how,  I  cannot  imagine.  I  went 
at  once  to  put  it  back,  but,  oh,  the  agony  of  the  parent- 
hen  !  With  widespread  wings  and  gaping  mouth  she 
hurled  herself  at  the  wire  fencing  where  I  was  picking  up 
the  squeaking  flat-footed  alien  she  had  been  cajoled 
into  nursing.    Had  she  been  free,  I  know  she  would 


:  I 


.1.  Tin;  III MiKv  s!:.\  i'!;iiri.i:  maki:  i;i;si'i:rri  i 
WAV   I'm;   iii:i:.' 


I 


The   Beginnings  of  Turtle      IIQ 


have  flung  herself  upon  me  with  heroic  carelessness  as 
to  the  result.  And  the  youngster  was  not  merely  not 
her  own,  but  belonged  to  a  totally  different  species  ! 
Oh,  the  wondrous  mystery  of  motlierhoud  !  Who  dare 
attempt  to  define  its  limitations  ? 

Many  days  tlie  sun  shines  upon  that  patch  of  sand, 
until  one  morning  there  is  a  series  of  shiny  upheavals, 
little  cones  erected  on  the  smooth  surface.  And 
presently  there  emerges  from  the  broken-up  level  a  tiny 
black  Turtle  about  an  inch  across.  Perfect  in  every 
detail  to  the  eye,  but  if  you  handled  him  you  would  find 
his  shell  quite  soft.  With  amazing  swiftness  and 
guided  by  God-given  instinct  he  scuttles  down  to  the 
sea.  A  gentle  wavelet  greets  him,  lifts  him  to  its  bosom 
and  he  is  launched.  No  weight  of  family  ties  oppresses 
him,  he  does  not  know  his  brothers  and  .listers  swarming 
after  him  along  the  same  road,  but  he  does  know  what 
his  first  duty  is — to  seek  adequate  shelter.  In  his  little 
brain  there  is  implanted  a  streak  of  caution,  based  upon 
the  fact  that  up  till  a  certain  period  his  protecting 
armour  is  soft,  no  defence  against  hungry  fish.  What 
then  is  he  to  do  in  order  to  live  ?  He  has  no  one  to 
teach  him,  no  parents  to  guide.  Here  instinct,  that 
amazing  principle  which  I  prefer  to  consider  the  guid- 
ance of  an  omnipresent  God  in  all  His  creatures,  comes 
into  play.  Closely  clustered  around  these  shores  the 
gulf-weed  {Fucus  natans)  grows  in  tropical  profusion, 
holding  within  its  brandling  fronds  an  astounding 
abundance  of  marine  life.  And  our  little  Turtle,  feeling 
his  defencelessness,  hies  him  into  the  heart  of  one  of 
these  weed  masses,  being  presently  joined  by  some  of 
his  relatives  whose  instincts  have  led  them  close  after 
liim  ! 

Here  for  a  blissful  season  the  baby  Turtles,  sJl  un- 
tended  save  by  the  allknowmg  Intelligence,  gather 


■>i 


2 

as 


to  ^ 

— i     -» 


120 


The  Turtle 


and  grow.  Here  they  feed  unmolested,  and  know  that 
their  armour  is  hardening  apace.  Outside  the  httle 
patch  of  weed-enclosed  sea  they  know  that  there  is  a 
horde  of  hungry  monsters  waiting  for  them.  But  they 
care  not.  Never  until  fully  protected  by  their  natural 
armour  do  they  knowingly  leave  those  cheerful  foodful 
precincts.  Yet  it  is  true  that  occasionally  straying 
too  near  the  thin  edges  of  the  submarine  forest,  a  baby 
Turtle  does  get  gobbled  up  by  a  hungry  fish.  And  why 
not  ?  Paucity  of  imaginative  power  alone  prevents 
me  from  depicting  the  reign  of  terror  inaugurated  in 
that  scanty  weed-space  among  its  smaller  denizens. 
How  can  we  live,  I  can  imagine  them  crying,  when  deep 
down  in  our  most  cherished  fastnesses  come  these  black 
ravenous  interlopers  devouring  us  ? 

Here  we  must  pause  a  moment  to  remember  that 
in   the  sea   the   interdependence   is   absolute,   direct. 
Every  creature  lives  upon  some  other  creature  below 
him   (above   in   some  few  cases  as  yet   but   vaguely 
determined),  and  we  are  horrified  to  see  the  incessant 
warfare    that  is  waged.      But,    to    use    an    historic 
phrase,  '  let  us  clear  our  minds  of  cant.'     Is  not  this 
just  as  much  a  feature  of  the  land  as  of  the  sea  ?     Do 
not  all  living  things  of  food  value  compulsorily  contri- 
bute their  bodies  to  our  upkeep  ?     Excepting  of  course 
the  vegetarian  members  of  society,  who  prefer  to  take 
their  animal  food-contribution  at  second  hand.     But 
we  stray  from  our  Turtle.     Presently  he  finds  out  that 
his  carapace  is  hard,  and  constitutes  a  perfect  shelter 
against  all  enemies,  save  those  whose  mouths  are  large 
enough  to  take  him  in  entire.     And  so  ere  long  he  bids 
good-bye  to  the  little  weed-patch  which  has  sheltered 
him  so  long,  and  starts  upon  his  voyage  of  life  over  the 
trackless  ocean. 

Now  it  does  not  appear  with  any  degree  of  accurnry 


Mysteries  of  Growth  121 


what  the  Turtle,  the  Edible  Turtle,  lives  upon  during 
his  adolescence.  There  be  Turtle  who  are  known  to 
live  upon  strange  foods,  but  in  every  case  tliey  are  a 
sort  of  compromise  between  Turtle  and  tortoise,  or  even 
Turtle,  tortoise,  and  lizard.  Of  these  are  the  Emvsaum 
scrpcnlina,  dwelling  in  and  around  Oriental  lakes  and 
rivers,  and  livmg  indiscriminately  upon  small  fish, 
reptiles,  and  even  small  birds.  The  Gymnopiis  of 
.\frican  rivers  feeds,  dear  creature,  upon  young  croco- 
diles, and  evolves  from  that  uncanny  diet  most  delicate 
flesh,  which,  albeit  it  is  strongly  flavoured  with  musk, 
is  most  highly  prized.  But  the  Thalassians,  or  true 
Sea  Turtles,  may  eat  fish  alive  or  dead,  or  they  may  eat 
certain  kinds  of  weed  ;  all  we  can  say  is,  that  we  do  not 
know  what  they  eat  nor  how  long  they  can  fast,  except 
that  from  the  time  a  Turtle  has  been  '  turned,'  say,  on  a 
Jamaican  beach  until  it  has  been  converted  into  soup 
for  a  Lord  Mayor's  banquet  in  London,  it  eats  nothing, 
and  does  not  seem  any  the  poorer  for  it. 

IVing  of  a  lethargic  habit,  of  course  there  is  not 
much  waste  of  tissue.  Having  assisted  at  the  butchery 
of  many  Turtles  just  from  the  sea,  and  examined,  as 
was  always  my  wont,  the  contents  of  their  stomachs, 
I  have  never  found  anything  identifiable  therein,  ex- 
cept a  few  stones  and  cuttle-fish  beaks,  which  latter 
looks  as  if  the  Turtle,  hke  nearly  all  other  sea  fish  and 
mammals,  eats  cuttle,  but  is  not  proof  positive.  And, 
bc^ide,  the  squid  is  so  plentiful  in  some  weed-covered 
?pots  of  ocean,  that  if  the  Turtle  grazed  upon  the  weed 
lie  could  not  help  eating  many  cuttles  at  the  same 
time. 

But,  whatever  our  young  friend  eats,  and  wherever 
he  eats  it,  one  fact  emerges  ;  it  agrees  with  him  im- 
mensely. He  grows  apace,  his  horny  covering  growing, 
too,  since  he  does  not  cast  it  like  the  Crustacea  :  he  leads 


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122 


The  Turtle 


an  exceedingly  pleasant  life,  basking  in  the  tropica! 
sun,  or  cruising  leisurely  in  the  cool  deptb.s  free  from 
all  danger,  when  once  he  has  attained  a  weight  of  about 
five-and-twenty  pounds,  vvhich  is  within  the  first  year 
usually.  After,  no  fish  or  mammal,  however  ravenous, 
however  well  armed  with  teeth,  interferes  with  the 
Turtle  ;  he  is  the  chartered  libertine  of  the  ocean 
When  once  he  has  withdrawn  his  head  from  its  position 
of  outlook  into  the  folds  of  his  neck  between  the  two 
sliells,  intending  devourcrs  may  struggle  in  vain  to 
make  an  impression  upon  him,  but  will  always  fail. 

Now,  this  being  the  case,  and  considering  the  fecun- 
dity of  the  Turtle  (I  counted  over  eiglit  hundred  eggs 
once  in  tlie  ovary  of  a  Turtle  turned  by  us  in  the  Gulf 
of  Mexico),  it  seems  strange  at  first  siglit  that  they  are 
not  almost  as  plentiful  as  cod.  So  I  believe  they  would 
be,  but  for  the  fact  that  they  lay  their  eggs  where  they 
do,  covered  with  a  comparatively  thin  layer  of  sand,  and 
exposed  to  the  ravages  of  many  creatures,  notably  rats 
and  birds  and  crabs.  Many  a  rich  banquet  do  these 
burglars  have  upon  the  fat  mound  of  eggs  deposited 
by  Mother  Turtle,  and  it  would  be  unpardonable  over- 
sight on  their  part  to  leave  even  one  egg.  This,  of 
course,  accounts  for  a  great  many.  As  for  the  toll  that 
man  takes,  as  in  the  case  of  nearly  cdl  deep-sea  fish,  it 
may  be  neglected  in  taking  into  account  the  number 
of  Turtle  which  do  not  die  of  old  age.  It  may  be  taken 
for  granted  that  what  man  gets  of  any  deep-sea  fish. 
by  comparison  with  what  is  eaten  by  the  sea-peopk- 
themselves,  is  but  as  the  crumbs  of  the  banquet,  the 
skimming  of  the  pot.  But,  by  the  operation  of  Nature's 
own  laws  in  thinning  out  any  superfluity  of  any  creature 
anywhere,  the  Turtle  is  kept  fro;Ti  becoming  too  numer- 
ous, harmless  as  he  is.  No  one  really  kn-jws  how  large 
a  Turtle  may  grow,  but  certainly  there  does  not  appear 


Turtle  as  Food 


123 


to  be  much,  if  any,  exaggeration  attached  to  the 
statements  of  PHny  and  Strubo,  who,  describing  the 
Chclonophagi  of  the  Red  Sea,  say  that  they  utihsed 
the  shells  of  the  Turtles  they  had  eaten  as  roofs  to  their 
huts,  and  boats  for  their  feeble  voyages. 

Strange  to  say,  the  handsomest  Turtle,  the  Hawk's- 
bill  variety  {Chclone  imhricata),  furnishes  the  worst 
flesh,  being  so  strongly  flavoured  with  musk  as  to  be 
almost  uneatable.  This  peculiarity  would  seem  to 
point  to  a  diet  of  squid,  since  these  mollusca  are  ex- 
ceedingly musky.  But  it  may  not  be  out  of  place  to 
remark  here  that  Turtle  flesh,  even  of  the  best  sorts 
is  not  nice.  As  Sam  Weller's  pieman  hoarsely  whis- 
pered, '  it's  the  seasonin'  as  does  it.'  A  diet  of  Turtle 
steaks,  or  of  hashed  Turtle,  or  of  Turtle  soup,  au  naturcl, 
would  soon  sicken  any  one  but  a  savage.  For  sixpeace, 
or  its  equivalent,  in  most  of  the  West  India  Island  town<; 
one  can  get  a  heaped  plate  of  Turtle  steak,  with  bread 
or  yams  or  sweet  potatoes  ad  lib.  But  I  never  knew 
even  a  hungry  sailor  that  wanted  more  than  one  meal 
a  week  of  it,  for  all  its  cheapness. 

The  fact  is  that,  in  the  cult  of  Turtle  soup,  we  are 
following  (a  long  wuy  off,  it  is  true)  the  example  set  by 
the  Chinese,  who  love  gelatinous  soups,  and  pay  fabu- 
lous prices  for  the  nests  of  the  sea  swallow,  the  Holo- 
Jiuria,  or  sea-slug,  and  sharks'  fins,  simply  because  of 
their  gelatinous  qualities.  Yet,  strange  to  say,  they 
do  not  put  the  same  value  on  the  Turtle  as  we  do. 
Turtle  are  many  in  number  on  the  Chinese  coast,  and 
the  guileful  Chinese  fisherman  has  developed  a  splendid 
plan  for  securing  them  with  little  troul)le  to  himself, 
lie  captures  some  Rcmorac,  those  little  sluirks  that  are 
so  1  izy  that  they  have  developed  a  sucking  arrangement 
on  the  top  of  their  heads,  wliereby  they  may,  and  do, 
attach  themselves  to  anytliing  that  is  likely  to  float 


>3 


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124 


The  Turtle 


effort.  Carrfully  he  welds  a  ring  round  their  tails  in 
such  w,se  that  ,t  cannot  be  pulled  off,  and  to  t  h" 
at  aches  a  tlun,  strong  Ime  ;    then,  putting  out  to  so' 

h  boH  "'  Tr  ''  '"  """'"'"S  helpers 'attached  to 
the  bottom  of  h,s  sampan,  he  gets  a  good  offing  and 
v.a.ts  pat.ently  for  the  appearance  of'a  Tur   e  askep 

r\      "2.,  ^^  ^°°"  "^  ^'^  ^-"  ^>-  have  dete    ed 
one    he   paddles   noiselessly   in    that    direction    unt  I 
getting  near  enough,  he  ships  his  paddle  and,with  a  long 
bamboo,  pushes  off  one  or  two  or  more  of  his  Rernora! 

on  The'  ""''  '"  ''  '!  ''  '^"^P  ''^'^  ^--  ^-^tening 
on  to  the^ canoe  agam,  for  they  speedily  discover  the 
Turtle  and  attach  themselves  to  him.  When  they  have 
done  so   the  quamt  yellow  fisherman  in  the  boat  need 

?rom':ftt"'r  '  '°r '-"'  '^  P""^"S  "p-  ^  ^~ 
h  m  let  ;n  h  r;"  'rr''''  ^^*  y^"  ^^""^t  make 
Inm  let  go  h.s  hold.  And  so  despite  his  struggles  the 
poor  turtle  must  come,  and  presently  yield  hfmreif  to 
be  made  soup  of  for  the  delectation  of  some    "urnber 

some  Tfr"-  '''"  "  ^^^°  ''''  "^^^hod  pursued  by 
some  of  the  coast  tnbes  of  Eastern  Africa,  whose 
appearance  would  seem  to  give  the  lie  to  any  sugges  bn 
of  such  a  standard  of  intelligence  as  would  utfhse  he 
Remorac  m  so  ingenious  a  way 

Our  method,  ,f  I  may  call  it  so,  of  capturing  the 
Turtle  ,s  much  less  elaborate.   Certain  placefare  knol 
to  be  favourite  haunts  of  the  Turtle  for  egg-laying 
purposes.     Then   all   that   is  necessary  is  someTaff 
reservoir  where  the  captured  creatures  may  be  kep 
await.ng  shipment,  and  a  band  of  labourers  who  do  not 
Ob  ect  to  night-work.     When  there  is  a  good  moon 
not  necessarily  full,  we  hide  ourselves  in  convemeni 
quarters  adjacent  to  the  beach,  and  wait  more  or   es 
patiently  untU  we  see  th..  first  broad  back,  glistening  S 


Turtle  Turning 


the  moonbeams  like  a  silver  sliield.  emerge  from  the 
waves.     The  excitement  becomes  intense;    one  feels 
one's  muscles  crawling,  as  it  were,  so  ea^er  are  we  to 
pounce  upon  our  prey.     JSut  wc  must  nut    yet      The 
t.rst  arrivals  have  fallen  to  digging  and  surrounding 
themselves  with  a  halo  of  fine  sand,  and  others  are 
coming  every  few  minutes,  on  the  same  errand  bent 
•At  last,  when  the  long  stretch  of  beach  is  fairly  covered 
with  the  tolling  Chdoncs,  each  in  her  own  pit,  labouring 
to  make  the  receptacle  sufficiently  deep  for  all  the  eggs 
she  has  brought,  our  chief  gives  the  signal,  and,  like 
a  l)and  of  brigands,  we  all  rush  forth  betw.  en  the  Turtle 
and  the  sea,  and  halting  one  by  one  at  the  pit^  strive  to 
turn  the  Turtle  over  by  a  dexterous  twisting  of  the 
hmd  flippers.     Sometimes,  and  that  not  seldom,  we 
g.  t  lK,ld  of  a  Turtle  that  it  would  take  three  men  to 
turn  over,  and,  holding  on  frantically,  we  are  dragged 
down  through   the  blinding  sand  to  the  sea  marge 
where  w'e  must  let  go  or  be  drowned.     Presently  the 
captured  turtle,  lying  with  feebly  waving  flippers  on 
tieir  backs  quite  helpless,  are  towed  by  ropes  attached 
to  tliem  to  our  reservoirs  or  ponds,  where  they  await 
shipment  to  London.     And  from  thenceforward,  until 
he  c;../  draws  his  knife  across  tlieir  leathery  throats. 

c  I  nu"  ^''^^''  ^""^  ^"^  ''''''"  ^"°'^''  *°  ^^t  in 

One  point  more  in  connexion  with  the  Turtle  before 
we  close  this  all-too-brief  memoir.  It  is  his  amazing 
^tahty.  Most  of  the  deep-sea  folk  possess  this  ciuahty 
of  tenacious  hold  on  life  in  a  high  degree,  but  none,  as 
i-jf  as  1  know,  to  nearly  the  same  extent  as  the  Turtle 
NMthout  endorsing  any  such  foolish  remark  as  that 
hey  cannot  die  until  the  setting  of  the  sun,'  I  can 

nrl  '7u       JJ'''''''  '"""  ^'^^'  ^^'^  ^^'■''''"^  o"t  of  a 
lurtie-shell  and  hung  upon  a  tree,  where  for  hours  the 


126 


The  Turtle 


quivering,  convulsive  movement  of  the  muscles  went 
on.  Not  only  so,  but  on  one  occasion  only  the  head 
and  tail  were  left  attached  to  the  shell.  Some  time 
had  elapsed  since  the  meat  had  been  cut  out  of  the 
carapace,  and  no  one  could  have  imagined  that  any 
life  remained  in  the  extremities.  But  a  young  Dane, 
noticing  that  the  down-hanging  head  had  its  mouth 
wide  open,  very  foolishly  inserted  two  fingers  between 
those  horny  mandibles.  They  closed,  and  our  shipmate 
was  two  tingiTS  sliort,  the  edges  of  the  Turtle's  jaws  had 
taken  them  off  clean,  with  only  the  muscular  power 
remaining  in  the  liead.  Then  another  man  tried  to 
cut  the  horny  tail  off,  but  as  soon  as  his  keen  blade 
touched  it  on  the  underside,  it  curled  up  and  gripped 
his  knife  so  firmly  that  it  was  nearly  an  hour  before 
the  blade  could  be  withdrawn.  Yes,  the  vitality  of  the 
Turtle  is  unique,  and  but  that  it  has  been  so  firmly 
established  and  frequently  experimented  upon,  stories 
of  it  would  have  to  be  listened  to  with  an  utter  in- 
credulity. Signor  Redi  once  cut  a  Turtle's  head  off, 
and  noted  that  it  lived  for  twenty-three  days  without 
a  head ;  and  another,  whose  brains  lie  removed,  lived 
for  six  months,  apparently  unconscious  that  it  had 
suffered  any  loss.  This  points  to  a  very  low  order  of 
being,  since  such  indifference  to  pain  and  deprivation 
of  members  is  characteristic  of  the  lowest  organisms. 
Yet  the  turtle  is  a  highly  developed  creature. 


CHAPTER   XII 


THE  CUTTLE-FISH   OR  fQUID 

WE  now  come  to  the  consideration  of  one  of  the 
most  widely  distributed,  most  useful,  and  withal 
most  extraordinary  of  all  the  denizens  of  all  the 
seas,  the  curious  shell-less  mollusc  known  generally  as 
the  Squid.  For  some  strange  reason,  which  I  do  not 
pretend  to  fathom,  an  enormous  number  of  otherwise 
well-read  peopjle  profess  knowledge  of  him  under  the 
name  of  Octopus.  Now  it  should  be  known  that  the  Oc- 
topus is  a  very  humble  member  of  this  great  moUuscan 
family,  never  growing  very  large,  and  entirely  indebted 
for  his  fame  to  the  splendid  but  fatally  inaccurate 
pen  of  Victor  Hugo  in  the  '  Toilers  of  the  Sea.'  If 
high  art  in  fiction  be  to  clothe  the  utterly  impossible 
as  well  as  improbable  in  such  fascinating  language 
that  the  reader  shall  be  crammed  for  the  rest  of  his 
life  with  absurdities,  then  Victor  Hugo  was  indeed 
the  greatest  fictional  artist  that  ever  lived.  But 
inaccuracy  of  statement  is  a  peculiarly  French  cha- 
racteristic, as  most  dabblers  in  science  know  very 
well.  However,  I  do  not  wish  to  be  ungrateful,  and 
I  will  at  once  admit  that,  utterly  unreliable  as  Victor 
Hupo  is  in  any  matter  of  fact,  the  fascination  of  his 
Work  is  its  own  ample  justification. 

The  hall-mark  of  all  the  Cephalopoda,  or  head- 
footed  ones,'  is  hideousness,  and  their  chief  character- 
istics, voracity  and  omnivorousness.     To  begin  with 


» 
S 


.  2 
r.r  3 


r:^. 


128      The  Cuttle-fish   or  Squid 

the  Oii.'pnda,  or  eiglit-footcd  ones,  is  to  introduce  at 
once  tc  the  friendly  reader's  notice  a  molhisc  he  is 
probably  well-acquainted  with  by  sight  in  some 
aqu, Ilium,  one  that  he  has  often  shuddered  over.  In 
truth,  even  when  very  small,  there  is  something  ghastly 
ab.  at  the  appearance  of  an  Octopus.  The  sombre 
brown  of  its  bod\-,  the  pustular  skin,  the  eyes  in  which 
a  whole  inferno  of  hatred  of  everything  living  seems 
to  be  concentrated,  the  palpitating  orifice  at  the  top 
of  the  head  which  is  the  entrance  to  its  body,  opening 
now  and  then  sufliciently  to  show  the  parrot-like  beak 
common  to  all  the  race,  these  are  grisly  features,  but 
the  eight  arms,  writhing,  curling,  dinging  hke  a 
Medusa's  hair,  are  the  features  of  the  Octopus  which 
hold  the  imagination  captive. 

My  fn>,t  e.xperience  of  tlie  Octopus  was  in  a  little 
bay  in  Stewart  Island,  New  Zealand.  A  small  river 
flowed  into  this  bay,  notable  for  its  fine  flounders, 
and  we  (the  crew  of  the  ship  in  which  I  was  then  a 
sailor)  soon  discovered  an  easy  way  of  catching  these 
succulent  fish.  It  was  to  wade  about  on  the  fine  sandy 
bed  with  bare  feet,  the  water  being  only  up  to  mid- 
thigh,  and  when  you  felt  the  flat  body  wriggling  under 
your  soles,  tread  firmly  and  stoop,  groping  in  the  sand 
until  you  had  your  flounder  safe  between  finger  and 
thumb,  when  you  could  raise  him  and  put  him  in  the 
bag  strapped  across  your  shoulders. 

By-and-by  we  discovered  that  the  nearer  the  sea 
the  finer  the  flounders,  and  so  one  sunny  afternoon 
I  was  wading  in  the  bay  near  the  rivulet's  mouth  and 
picking  up  some  fine  specimens.     Suddenly,  I   trod 
upon  something  like  a  blob  of  jelly.     Fearing  a  sting,     j 
for  most  jelly-fish  (Medusae)  sting  like  nettles,  I  made     ! 
to  step  off,  only  to  feel  both  my  legs  gripped  in  several     • 
places  by  something  that  clung  as  if  it  would  eat  into     i 


The  Horrible  Octopus        1 29 


the  flesh.  I  stooped  and  felt  a  !onp  whip-like  tcntn  ;le 
twisted  round  my  right  leg.  I  tore  it  off.  a  feeling  of 
nnusea  making  me  quite  giddy.  Put  no  sooner  had  I 
nmoved  one  snaky  tiling  than  another  held  me,  and 
mnther  and  another.  It  is  true  the  water  was  shallow, 
only  reaching  to  my  hips,  but  I  began  to  feel  as  if  I 
must  be  dragged  under,  drowned,  and  devrared  by 
this  horrible  thing,  whatever  it  was. 

Fortunately  I  retained  some  presence  of  mind, 
and  drawing  my  sheath-knife,  I  reached  down  cau- 
tiously to  where  I  felt  the  main  body  of  the  thing,  and 
,ivi)iding  my  bare  feet  I  stabbed  steadily  into  the 
Central  part  of  the  beast,  the  body,  as  I  supposed. 
And  I  was  quite  successful,  for  presently  I  felt  the  clutch 
of  the  tentacles  round  my  legs  rela.x,  I  saw  the  water 
all  distained  with  something  which  I  then  thought 
was  blood,  but  now  know  as  sepia,  and  I  smelt  the 
-troiig  odour  of  stale  musk,  which  all  cuttle-fish  have 
if  you  meddle  with  them.  Also  I  felt  strangely  sick 
and  ill.  All  a-tremble,  at  which  I  felt  much  ashamed, 
and  more  so  when,  on  forcing  myself  to  pick  up  the 
body  of  the  thing,  I  saw  that  it  was  quite  insignificant 
in  size.  Its  body  proper  was  not  much  larger  than 
my  two  fists,  while  its  eight  tentacles  were  about 
twenty  inches  in  length.  But  the  whole  creature 
looked  so  diabolical,  an  app'irance  which  its  colour, 
a  liL,'ht  brown  splashed  with  n^ddish  spots,  materially 
lii'lped.  And  I  telt  quite  certain,  too,  that,  had  I  been 
la'd  hold  of  in  water  out  of  my  depth  by  one  of  these 
(. Teat u res,  only  a  miracle  could  hav^  saved  me  from 
drowning. 

Fortunately  it  is  not  the  practice  of  the  Octopus 
to  ^wim  about  in  mid-water,  but  only  to  crawl  clammily 
about  the  bottom,  dragging  itself  along  by  its  quivering 
(lutching  aims,  which  stick  to  everything  they  touch 


i> 


^ 

v> 

Qe 

"^ 

« 

♦<r 

■M 

•^* 

h« 

s 

5 

!3 

^ 

:^ 

130      The   Cuttk'fish  or   Squid 


with  a  grip  that  only  the  tearing  off  of  tin-  sucker  will 
release  in  many  cases.  Like  the  sharks,  the  Octopoda 
are  true  scavengers,  eating  anything  eatable  which 
comes  in  their  way,  but  unlike  the  sharks  they  also 
manage  to  git  a  gwod  deal  cf  living  food,  quite  large 
fish  being  often  found  in  their  clutches  undergoing 
process  of  demolition.  In  common  with  all  tlie 
mollusca,  and  more  or  less  with  fish  generally,  their 
digestive  powers  are  am;izing,  the  food,  a  fish  for 
instance  a  foot  long,  being  digested  almost  as  it  descends 
into  the  maw.  They  are  nearly  all  stomach  and 
tentacles,  the  other  organs  being  insignificant.  But 
again,  like  all  their  near  and  distant  relatives,  they 
pay  a  heavy  penalty  for  their  inability  to  grow  a  back- 
bone, and  incidentally  for  their  succulence  consequent 
upon  their  appetite.  No  food  is  so  much  loved  by 
all  fish  of  whatever  kind  in  the  sea  as  the  flesh  of  the 
Cephalopoda.  Having  no  bones,  and  in  most  cases 
no  external  armour  to  protect  it,  it  falls  a  ready  prey 
to  fish  large  enough  to  withstand  the  pressure'  of  its 
clutching  arms  and  the  onslaught  of  its  tearing  beak. 
And  although,  like  fish,  it  is  oviparous  and  extremely 
prolific,  it  does  not  increase  in  numbers  to  any  extent, 
from  the  fondness  of  other  fish  for  the  immature 
Octopod  ;  and  it  has,  hke  fifh,  no  idea  of  maternal 
care. 

Now  I  would  gladly,  if  I  could,  say  a  good  word 
for  the  Octopus  on  my  root-principle  of  justice  for 
all.  But  I  admit  that  it  is  very  difficult.  I  do  not 
see,  cannot  see,  why  the  Octopus  is,  except  for  the 
purpose  of  providing  abundant  succulent  food  for 
shapely  fish  prowling  along  the  shallow  sea-bed.  But 
that  remark  only  goes  to  show  the  depth  of  ipy 
ignorance,  comm  m  to  all  of  us  who  study  the  fauna 
of  the  sea,  of  the  real  conditions  of  their  lives.    One 


oi'oniA   AIM']  'rui  K   sc.\vi:x(;i:i{s.   ivxrixc    any 


>  t     I J .  \  1 


»V    i  I   1  V     i  I      V    *  *.M  l-L^      1  .>        I    I  I  l-I   il       V\    .\    I 


The  Octopus  of  Fiction      131 

tliin?.  however,  I  do  know,  and  that  is  that  the  many 
Mii.-.itinnal  pieces  of  fiction  wliirii  have  been  built  up 
Jules  \'erne  and  Victor  Hugo  fasliion,  are  not  worth 
wasting  thought  over. 

For  first  of  all  the  Octopus  does  not  grow  to  any 
?reat  size  as  far  as  we  know,  and  certainly  from  the 
firt  of  its  habitat  being  invariably  shallow  waters, 
we  are  in  a  far  better  position  to  know  the  facts  as  to 
its  Hmitations  of  growth  than  of  any  other  Cephalojjod. 
Its  limit  of  size,  as  far  as  at  piescnt  ascertained,  is 
hndy  about  the  si/e  of  a  f()oM)all,  tentacles  four  feet 
in  length.  Quite  big  enough  to  dnnvn  two  or  there 
men  at  once,  if  only  it  got  the  opportunity,  but  how 
far  removed  from  the  fearsome  monsters  of  the  French 
no\tlists.  To  sum  up,  the  Octopus  is  like  the  rest 
of  his  appalling  family,  a  fellow  of  whom  no  one  can 
conscientiously  say  much  that  is  good  ;  but  as  with 
tlie  alligator,  the  mosquito,  and  the  louse,  since  the 
Lord  has  seen  fit  to  create  him  and  place  him  in  his 
present  position,  it  does  not  become  short-sighted  man 
to  question  that  Supreme  Wisdom. 

Yet  there  i?  one  point  in  the  economy  of  the  Octopus 
which  we  may  well  admire,  the  wonderful  arrangement 
of  sucking  discs  or  acetahiilae  upon  the  inside  of  each 
of  his  arms.  Their  number  runs  into  hundreds,  and 
each  of  them  is  a  perfect  miniature  receiver  of  an 
air-pump,  acting  automatically.  In  one  experiment 
I  made,  I  found  that  a  sucker  less  than  half  an  inch 
H  across  lifted  a  tin  dish  weighing  over  a  pound,  and  held 
ii  It  suspended  in  the  air  for  several  minutes.  At  this 
tune  tlie  Octopus  had  been  some  time  out  of  water, 
and  was  not  far  from  death,  so  that  his  power  of  suction 
by  means  of  his  acdahulae  was  very  much  diminished. 
l-mallv,  it  may  be  laid  down  as  a  fact  that  the  Octopoda 
tlu  exhibit  an  intelligence  and  a  ferocity  in  attack  upon 


132      The  Cuttle-fish  or  Squid 

what  they  regard  as  a  prey  or  an  enemy,  that  is  quite 
disconcerting  to  observe  in  an  invertebrate.  But, 
after  all,  what  do  we  know  of  the  intelligence  of  the 
invertebrata  ? 

The  Odopoda,  however,  form  but  one  small  branch 
of  the  amazing  family  of  the  naked  Cephalopods, 
whose  home  is  in  the  deep  sea,  and  whose  breeding- 
place  is  no  one  knows  where.  Their  divisions  are  as 
numerous  as  the  range  in  their  size  is  wide,  and  that 
IS  from  the  tiny  Loligo  of  a  couple  of  inches  in  length, 
to  the  gigantic  Cuttle-fish,  whose  limit  of  size  is  un- 
known, but  of  which  specimens  ha'-e  been  seen  as  big 
as  an  adult  sperm  whale.  Now  these  Decapods,  or 
ten-armed  ones,  are,  though  of  the  same  family  as  the 
Octopods,  of  widely  different  habits,  and  are  also  widely 
divergent  in  shape.  For  instance,  the  Octopus  has 
a  body  very  nearly  globular  in  form,  without  a  sugges- 
tion of  taper  to  it,  while  all  the  Decapods  have  a 
cylindrical  body,  at  the  apex  of  which,  or  that  part 
remote  from  the  head  (which  yet  we  can  hardly  call 
a  tail),  is  a  sort  of  vane  like  that  on  a  ship's  patent 
log  just  above  the  propeller. 

This  vane  has  a  definite  purpose,  now  to  be  ex- 
plained. It  is  obvious  that  no  creature  shaped  like 
the  Cephalopoda,  i.e.,  with  a  crown  of  long  arms 
branching  cut  from  the  top  of  its  head,  can  ever  pro- 
gress with  any  rapidity  frontways,  because  the  arms 
would  all  spre  .d  out  fan-wise,  and  prevent  such  a 
manoeuvre.  But  the  Squid  or  Decapod  has  that 
matter  arranged  for.  Its  head  wobbles  loosely  in 
a  wide  collar  of  gristle,  in  one  side  of  which  there  is  an 
orifice  from  which  the  creature  can  eject  a  jet  of  water. 
When,  therefore,  it  is  necessary  for  a  Cuttle-fish  to 
hasten  away  from  the  spot  where  it  is,  this  hydraulic 
jet  is  put  in  motion,  and  the  ejected  water  comes  out 


-f?^^ 


The  Use  of  Squid 


with  snrh  force  as  to  hurl  the  creature  backward  with 
i;r(at  speed,  its  ten  arms  trailing  along  in  a  compart 
|!(  imed  bundle.  Also  that  jet  is  stained  with  sepia, 
so  that  the  enemies  following  hard  after  may  not  be 
able  to  see  whither  the  chased  has  gone.  Of  course  this 
int  thod  of  progression  varies  in  its  speed  according 
to  the  size  of  the  creature,  the  smallest  Squid  being 
;il)le  to  I'^ap  out  of  water  on  to  a  ship's  deck,  where 
every  sailor  has  found  them  at  some  time  or  another 
in  low  latitudes.  The  largest  ones,  that  is,  those 
upmi  whom  the  sperm  whale  browses,  cannot,  I  should 
s.iv,  move  very  fast ;  but  then  all  their  movements  are 
s'lroudcd  in  the  deepest  mystery. 

The  range  of  the  Decapods  is  enormous.  They 
arc  found  in  some  of  their  varieties  in  all  the  seas  of 
all  His  world,  and  there  is  no  doubt  that  they  form 
tlio  greater  part  of  the  food  of  all  the  higher  vertebrate 
\>h.  In  certain  seas  it  is  hardly  too  much  to  say  the 
water  is  thick  with  the  smaller  kinds,  and  this  is  of 
course  the  case  where  there  are  shoals  of  fish,  such  as 
cod,  to  be  fed.  For  this  is  the  use  of  the  Squid.  There 
are  few  civilised  people  who  care  to  eat  Squid,  although 
they  are  really  not  bad-tasting,  but  there  are  no  fish 
that  do  not  love  this  sapid  mollusc,  who  has  no  pro- 
tei  tion  whatever  against  their  sharp  teeth,  no  speed 
to  spe.ik  of,  and  no  bones  to  hinder  digestion. 

In  dealing  with  the  numbers  of  the  sea-folk,  one 
docs  not  dare  to  compute,  one  can  only  deal  in  vague 
1:1  inTahties,  but  I  well  remember  once  catching  a  fish 
we  sailors  know  as  a  skip-jack,  a  kind  of  mackerel 
^niallcr  than  a  bonito,  and  averaging  four  pounds  in 
\\  i,i;ht.  There  were  many  thousands  around  the 
^'■''W  all  busily  leapang  after  Squid.  I  baited  my  hook 
''Mth  a  piece  of  white  rag  and  flicked  it  about  from  the 
i.h-l)oom  until  I  hooked  my  fish.     Taking  him  in,  I 


134      The  Cuttle-fish  or  Squid 

opened  him  and  found  within  him  twenty-four  Squid 
packed  as  tightly  within  his  maw  as  if  they  hadT  j 
forced  down,  yet  he  was  ready  for  just  another  on 
or  he  wou  d  not  have  taken  my  bait.  What  counti  . 
myriads  of  these  small  cuttles  must  be  bred  then  to 
supply^,  needs  of  the  nulhons  of  hungry  fish  hke;:!; 

On  what  are  all  these  molluscs  fed  ?     Here  we  must 

them  with  any  degree  of  certainty.     That  thev  a  e 
aU  fed  are  all  fat  and  well-hking,  is^absolutely       ta 
but  th    ,5       ,,,,  of  the  individuals  upon  which  tl  ev 
feed  1.  just  beyond  our  ken.  as  is  the  answer  to  th 
question  of  how  do  they  enjoy  their  lives,  being  onlv 
apparen  ly   born    to   be   chased   and   devmired.'   Y 

the  animal  kingdom  that  it  almost  ceases  to  excite 
our  wonder.     It  must  be.  we  feel,  that  the  abTen 
of   prevision,    of   the   power   of   antiapation.    exccp 

"ernr     ''■."  'It  ^^^P--^-^"  ^-tor  in 'air'uc'h 
cases,  preven  ing  these  myriads  from  dreading  death 
and  making  them  enjoy  present  life  to  the  full      More- 
over    Imgering    death,    the    slow    agony    of    comin. 

unknown  among  these  lower  intelligences.  As  a 
mie.  their  transmutation,  via  the  stomach  of  some 
higher  organism,  mto  another  form  of  being  is  sw.f 

rnLrbi?.' '-  --'  -  -'-''  -  -  ^'  ^^ 

Ascending  the  scale  of  the  deep-sea  Cephalopoda, 

armed  f"  Z"^"'^"'''^'  ^"'"&'^'"'  ^^*  ^^ey  are  better 
armed  of  higher  intelligence,  and  fairly  well  able  to 
ho  d  their  own  against  hsh  very  much  their  superiors 
m  size.     In  consequence,  they  are  not  nearly  so  prolilk, 


Insatiable  Nightmares         1 35 


althonph  their  numbers  must  be  enormous.  Some 
of  them  (I  do  not  (}iiote  the  appaUing  nomenclature 
f:iven  them  by  scientific  naturah^sts)  are  amaziiii;ly 
hideous  in  colour,  in  outline  and  disposition  of  armour 
over  their  gelatinous  bodies.  So  well  are  they  proteitt'd 
that  it  is  exceedingly  doubtful  whether  any  animal 
smaller  or  less  well  armed  than  the  cachalot  can  ever 
successfully  interfere  with  them,  while  it  is  very  certain 
that,  in  addition  to  preying  upon  all  or  any  of  their 
own  kind  inferior  to  tliem  in  size,  they  are  terrible 
enemies  to  the  large  fish  who  chance  to  stray  wittiin 
the  gloomy  circle  where  they  lie  in  wait,  surrounded 
by  sepia-coloured  water  diffused  from  the  natural 
reservoir  of  that  murky  fluid. 

In  order  that  they  may  more  fully  and  freely  carry 
out  their  nefarious  designs,  they  possess  eyes  larger 
and  more  powerful  in  proportion  to  their  size  than 
does  any  other  creature,  not  excepting  in.sects  with 
their  thousand-faceted  eyes.  These  great  optical 
mirrors,  black  as  an  inkpool  and  lidless,  not  even  a 
nictitating  membrane  shielding  their  all-embracing 
glare,  are  set  one  on  each  side  of  the  cylindrical  head, 
on  which  they  occupy  so  much  space  that  their  side 
edges  nearlv  touch.  And  as  the  head  itself  is  borne 
upon  a  column  of  soft,  gristly,  boneless  substance  so 
that  it  can  turn  every  way,  with  a  universal  ball-and 
socket-joint  movement,  it  must  be  impossible  for  any 
object  to  escape  that  devouring  purview. 

T!,o  adjuncts  to  the  eyes  are  the  restless  tentacles, 
a  living,  palpitating  network,  never  still,  always 
(luivering  like  the  petals  of  a  sea  anemone,  which  most 
People  have  watched  in  an  aquarium.  Then  these 
Cchludopodii  have  an  additional  weapon  granted  them 
in  that  each  one  of  the  curious  acctabulac,  sucking  discs 
or  iM-pnmp  receivers,  whatever  we  like  to  call  them, 


3 

■  2 

vl  * 
,      n: 


..M 


136     The  Cuttle-fish  or  Squid 

which  h'ne  the  inside  of  each  of  the  eight  tentacula 
and  the  ends  of  the  two  long  ones,  has  a  row  of  claws 
like  those  of  a  tiger's  set  round  its  inner  edge.  And 
when  a  victim  touches  one  of  those  tentacles  the  suckers 
cling  and  automatically  the  claws  begin  to  tear,  so 
that  a  speedy  journey  down  the  gulf  in  the  centre  of 
the  group  of  arms  must  come  as  a  sweet  relief  from  the 
sensation  of  being  devoured  by  many  mouths  at  once. 

In  the  matter  of  food  they  are,  like  most  of  the 
deep-sea  folk,  without  any  vulgar  prejudices.  What- 
ever they  get  that  is  eatable  is  the  thing  they  want, 
nor  do  they  waste  time  and  trouble  in  selection.' 
Presumably,  though  the  study  of  these  curious  creatures 
bristles  with  difficulty,  different  species  inhabit  different 
depths,  but  nearly  all  the  larger  kinds  prefer  deep 
waters,  say  one  hundred  fathoms  or  so,  while  the  small 
ones  like  the  Octopoda  keep  near  the  surface. 

Coming  to  the  largest  of  all,  the  gigantic  Cuttle- 
fish, several  very  curious  facts  present  themselves  at 
once.     The  first  is  that  as  far  back  as  the  day  of 
Aristotle,   Pliny,  and  /Elian,   the  gigantic  Cuttle-fish 
was  fairly  well  known  and  described.     Pliny,  indeed, 
tells  a  story  which,   knowing  what  we  know  of  the 
habits  of  the  Cuttle-fish  as  distinct  from  the  Octopoda, 
savours  of  the  incredible.     While  he  was  consul   in 
Spain,  he  says,  one  of  these  monsters  acquired  the 
bad  habit  of  coming  ashore  by  night  and  plundering 
the   salt-fish    warehouses.     It   came   once    too   often, 
and  was  slain.     Being  brought   under  Plinv's  notice 
he  conceived  a  joke.     He  caused  the  head  to  be  cut 
off,  and  a  cask  of  fifteen  anij)horae  capacity  was  filled 
with  it  (somewhat  larger  than  a  sugar  hogshead,  we 
must  suppose).     This  he  sent  to  his  friend  Lucullus 
in   Sicily   to   grace   one   of   his   memorable    banquets, 
adding  that  he  knew  his  love  for  fish.     He  also  adds 


Cuttk'fish  Yarns 


a  fow  details,  such  as  that  tlir  arms  wore  tliirty  feet 
loiii;,  and  S(i  thick  that  a  man's  arms  could  hardly 
niret  round  them  at  their  bases,  the^,  arms  being 
provided  with  aalithtilae  large  as  basins  holding  four 
or  five  gallons.  Now,  with  the  sole  exception  of  the 
burglarious  habit  of  this  Cuttlc-ii<h,  which  if  true  has 
riTtaii.'y  been  discontinued  by  the  creature's  descen- 
dant s,  these  details  are  not  very  wide  of  possible  and 
probable  truth,  and  indeed,  well  within  the  truth  as 
rcLMrds  size  of  many  that  have  been  seen  ar'd  described 
of  late  years. 

But  coming  down  to  mediTval  times,  sui'h  writers 
as  Paulinus  (who  thinks  that  the  great  Cuttle  must 
be  a  vast  crab),  Bartholinus,  Athanasius  Kircher, 
Olaus  Magnus,  and  Pontoppidan,  P.ishop  of  Bergen, 
we  tind  quite  a  different  style  of  writing,  and  a  steep 
descent  into  utter  inaccuracy.  Not  being  gifted  with 
either  the  literary  ability  or  the  judicial  restraint  of 
the  pagan  writers,  these  Northern  litterateurs  launched 
into  the  wildest  fables,  and  supplemented  their  literary 
fancies  by  such  outrageous  caricatures  that  ordinary 
minds  very  justly  recoiled  from  them,  feeling  that 
they  could  not  be  true.  For  instance,  Pontoppidan, 
thoi  h  a  bishop,  was  the  author  of  a  monstrous  tale 
bull  I  up  from  the  simple  story  of  some  fishermen,  who 
undoubtedly  did  come  across  the  body  of  a  vast 
Cephalopod  in  the  North  Sea,  and  related  tlieir  ex- 
periences to  him.  No  doubt  they  exaggerated,  that 
was  only  natiral  in  them,  but  Pontoppidan's  story  is 
wild  as  the  Avatar  of  the  Fish  from  the  Mahaliharata. 

Very  briefly  his  versi  >n  was  this:  that  a  fleet  of 
ships  while  at  sea  sighted  an  island  where  no  island 
should  be,  and  determining  to  explore  this  strange 
land,  anchored  their  vessels  and  landed.  When 
svuldonly,  to  their  horror,  there  arose  around  the  island 


ij 


J 

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UJ 

J»- 

!: 

f.r 

a 

,  - 

or 

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^- 

■r> 

«t 

t3 

—J 

1& 
^ 

138      The  Cuttle-fish  or  Squid 

a  multitude  of  strpent-like  arms  talltT  than  the  most- 
of  the  vessels,  which  embraced  the  ships  and  collected 
the  crews  until,  with  a  lu^rrible  whirling  of  the  whole 
ocean,  island  and  ships  and  men  disappeared  for  ever. 
And  he  does  not  even  explain  to  us  whence  he  derived 
his  information. 

This  creature  is  undoubtedly  the  Kraken  of  old 
Norse  le-<nds,  sufficiently  awe-ins[)iring  in  its  supreme 
hidcousness  and  its  vast  size  to  excuse  the  wildest 
tale  told  by  a  shuddering  eye-witness  of  its  prow,  -- 
in  those  far-off  days  ;  yes,  even  sufficiently  terrible 
to  account  for  its  being  considered  tlie  originating 
cause  of  the  maelstrom  off  the  Lofoden  Islands,  around 
which  so  many  hair-raising  tales  have  clustered. 

But  what  docs  seem  incomprehensible  to  me  is 
that,  after  so  many  indisputable  glimpses  of  the  great 
Cuttle-fish  during  those  early  years,  the  exaggerations 
of  the  historians  should  have  been  able  to  cause  such 
a  revulsion  of  feeling  as  to  make  people  disbelieve 
m  the  existence  of  such  a  creature  at  all.  Yet  that 
is  exactly  what  happened,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  very 
many  authentic  records  exist  of  appearances  of  the 
creature.  It  is  true  that  at  the  same  time  many  fables 
were  current  anent  the  appearance  of  the  great  sea- 
serpent,  most  of  which  were  doubtless  due  to  hurried 
glimpses  of  the  gigantic  Cuttle-fish  in  his  conflict  with 
a  sperm  whale.  But  why  stories  of  the  mythical 
sea-serpent  should  have  been  accepted,  and  accounts 
of  the  real  mollusc  have  been  rejected,  it  is  impossible 
to  say.     It  must,  I  suppose,  remain  a  mystery. 

An  added  wonder  comes  from  the  fact  that  the 
American  sperm  whale  fishery  has  existed  for  well  over 
a  century,  and  during  the  whole  of  that  time  every 
officer,  to  say  nothing  of  the  men,  must  have  known  vi 
the  very  real  existence  of  the  great  Squid,  since  scarcely 


Squid  Superstitions 


139 


a  sporm  whale  can  be  killed  without  first  cjorting  from 
his  stomach  huge  fragments  of  this  popularly  believed 
by  seamen  to  be  the  largest  of  all  God's  creatures. 
Not  only  so,  but  m  every  book  which  has  been  written 
about  the  sperm  whale  fishery  some  allusion  to  the 
great  Cuttle-fish  will  surely  be  found,  altliougli  it  must 
be  admitted  that  so  much  superstitiously  childisli 
matter  is  usually  mixed  up  with  the  facts  as  to  make 
the  latter  difficult  of  belief.  For  instance,  Herman 
Melville's  wonderful  Moby  Dick,  or  the  White  Whale, 
which  is,  and  must  remain,  the  classic  upon  this  subject, 
botli  from  tlie  magic  of  its  style  and  the  accuracy  of  its 
descriptions,  has  the  following  : — 

'Almost  forgetting  for  the  moment  all  tlioughts 
of  Moby  Dick,  we  now  gazed  at  the  most  wondrous 
phenomenon  which  the  secret  seas  have  hitherto 
revealed  to  mankind.  A  vast  pulpy  mass,  furlongs  (?) 
in  length  and  breadth,  of  a  glancing  cream  colour, 
lay  floating  on  the  water,  innumerable  long  arms 
radiating  from  its  centre,  and  curling  and  twisting 
like  a  nest  of  anacondas,  as  if  blindly  to  clutch  at 
any  object  within  reach.  No  perceptible  face  or  front 
did  it  liave  ;  no  conceivable  token  of  either  sensation 
or  instinct,  but  undulated  there  on  the  billows  an 
unearthly,  formless,  chance-like  apparition  of  life. 
.\s  with  a  low  sucking  sound  it  slowly  disappeared 
again,  Starbuck,  still  gazing  at  the  agitated  waters 
where  it  had  sunk,  with  a  wild  voice,  exclaimed  : 
"  Almost  rather  had  I  seen  Moby  Dick  and  fought 
liim,  than  to  have  seen  thee,  thou  white  ghost." 

'  "  What  was  it,  sir  ?  "    said  Flask. 

The  great  live  Squid,  which,  they  say,  few  whale- 
?liips  ever  beheld  and  returned  to  their  ports  to  tell 
of  It."  * 


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140      The   Cuttk'fish   or   Squid 


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Now  tl  >  excerpt  is  typical  of  the  way  in  which 
appearam  es  of  the  Squul  were  treated,  and  may 
possibly  account  for  tlie  s(  -pticism,  in  an  age  ^rowint; 
with  enlightenment,  witli  wliich  such  stories  were 
received.  lUit  why.  in  the  name  of  patience  anil 
common-sen  ',  ^■isi()Ils  (jf  fragi  lents  of  the  animal 
should  be  regarded  .is  usual  and  ii.itural,  while  to 
view  the  en: ire  beast  portended  the  most  awful 
cal,i:i..iie>  passes  tli'  wit  of  man  to  untlerstand. 
Certain  it  is  tliat  many  of  the  old  whale-men  be- 
lieved the  S(]uid  upon  which  tlic  sperm  wli.de  feeds 
to  be  one  untli-nkably  vast  animal  sprawling  upon 
the  sea-bed,  and  renewing  with  ama/ing  facility 
ana  kindliness  such  portions  of  his  an.itomy  as  the 
hungry  wliales  were  continuallv  biting  oH.  But 
probably  this  is  more  than  enough  of  such  fantastic 
fables. 

The  plain  facts  about  the  gigantic  Squid  which 
are  well  authenticated  ire  few  but  substantial.  First, 
his  habitat  is  certainly  within  the  limit  of  ■  ve  hundred 
f.itliom/  dejith  and  in  places  wiierr  tin  re  is  much  food 
suitable  for  him,  that  is,  fish  of  goodly  <\zc  and  smaller 
members  of  his  own  species.  And  it  )uld  seem  that 
having  found  such  a  spot  he  is  not  wilhng  to  leave  it, 
being,  although  amazingly  strong,  of  a  sluggish, 
lethargic  habit.  He  does  not  pursue  his  prey  ;  he 
waits  like  some  unimaginable  spider  in  the  centre  of 
his  web  of  far  reaching  tentacles,  with  his  huge  eyes 
piercing  the  surrounding  sei:)ia-stained  waters  until 
a  quiver  from  one  of  tin  outlying  arms  sets  the  abvsnial 
mouth  agape,  the  mighty  parrot-like  mandibles  clashing 
as  the  struggling  victim  is  conveyed  inwards.  He  has 
no  care,  no  d  uculty  of  pro\  idinr  food.  All  he  nt'cds 
comes  to  him,  and  what  an  all  that  nust  be!  I  have 
myself  seen  a  creature  of  this  species  in  the  act  of  being 


Squid   Mysteries 


141 


■  vnnrt  '1  by  a  sperm  wli  iK-,  whose  Icnu'th  could  not 
lavi    bvi.  :i  nunh  less  tli  lu  r>i\t\-  frrt,  fM  hisiw  of  tlu' 

•riitarlcs,  ;ind  who:-''  gnth  would  be  aI)out  fifteen  or 
tu  nty  ftH't.  Tlie  (li'VourinL;  iMp.icitv  of  ^ucli  a 
ritaturc  must  be  of  fabulous  dimen-;ons,  suice,  as 
l,.f(.;c  noted,  while  all  the  sea-folk  hav,;  ami/inj; 
(li^'otive  powers,  the  Ccphdlo^^i^da  are  pre-eminent 
in  this  direction.  Their  bodies  may  rouj^'hly  be  de- 
srnhed  as  baf.,'s  of  digestive  juires  which  (hssolve  the 
fnod  as  it  comes  in,  and  like  the  parabolic  daughters 
of  the  horse-leech,  the  cephalopod's  stomach,  that  is 
to  -  ly,  almost  his  whole  body,  is  ever  crying  'Give, 
give,'  and  never  s.iys  '  Hold,  enough  ' 

Sin-i-e  ev  n  this  vast  mollusc's  very  existence  has 
lieeii  strenuously  denied  up  till  quite  recent  years  by 
seientihc  naturalists,  it  follows  tha*  we  have  but  few 
details  concerning  him.  Some  th  igs,  iiowevcr,  we 
may  know  by  inference,  and  amongst  them  are  the 
t  Ilowiiig.  f !  e  gigantic  Cuttl-tish  must  be  very 
jirolific.  He  is  the  principal  food,  the  main  support 
of  the  sperm  whale,  and  as  this  ist  mammal's  numbers 
are  incalculable,  and  each  individual  needs,  at  the 
very  lo  .vest  computation,  a  ton  of  food  per  day  to  keep 
him  going,  the  numbers  of  the  mollusca  upon  which  he 
f.eds  must  be  proportionate.  As  to  the  numbers  of 
ti.e  sperm  whale  I  m  :V  say,  in  passing,  that  it  has 
s-veral  times  been  m\  lot  to  witness  an  assemblage  of 
ciehalots,  all  of  the  largest  size,  covering  an  area  of 
ocean  as  far  as  the  eye  ciuld  reach  from  the  masthead 

■  f  our  ship  in  every  direc  lion.  That  is  to  say,  we  were 
the  centre  of  a  circle  of  vision  thirty  miles  in  diameter, 
and  wherever  the  eye  rested  in  that  circle  it  saw  sperm 
whales  spouting.  Only  to  think  of  the  amount  of  food 
reciuircd  for  that  stupendous  hos*"  makes  the  mind 
reel. 


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<nr 


142      The  Cuttlefish  or  Squid 

Next,  he  must  grow  very  rapidlv.  As  I  haw 
before  stated,  I  think,  it  is  the  ahnost  invariablf  hai)it 
of  the  sperm  whale  to  eject  the  contents  of  his  stomatli 
just  before  death.  All  that  I  have  seen  die  did  so  with 
one  exception,  and  that  one  died  so  suddenly  that  he 
did  not  even  go  into  the  usual  '  flurry,'  or  death  agony. 
And  all  the  fragments  ejected  were  of  enormous  size, 
sliowing  conclusively  that  they  bad  been  bitten  from 
monstrous  Squid.  What  is  more  remarkable  is  that 
I  never  saw  entire  ones  vomited  up,  although  I  cannot 
but  believe  tliat  th(y,  the  cachalots,  must  swallow  a 
great  many  of  medium  size,  say  from  six  to  ten  feet 
long  or  so,  entire.  I  did  once  see  a  fairly  comprehensive 
collection  of  Cuttles  and  vertebrate  fish  in  the  stomach 
of  a  stranded  whale,  and  I  see  no  reason  to  suppose 
that  tliere  was  anything  singular  about  him  ;  but 
witli  regard  to  the  ejecta  from  the  whale's  stomach 
while  dying,  in  my  whole  experience  it  is  as  I  say, 
they  were  fragments  of  mollusca  of  the  most  heroic 
size. 

Another  fact,  and  that  one  of  the  most  curious 
connected  with  this  strange  creature,  is  the  scent  of 
musk  which  he  exhales.  Most  of  us  know  that  sepia, 
the  artist's  sepia,  bought  in  tubes  or  cakes,  is  musky 
to  the  smell,  but  few  connect  it  with  the  natural  odour 
of  the  Cuttle-rish.  It  shares  this  odour  witn  the 
alligator,  musk-rat,  and  musk-deer,  wherein  is  con- 
cealed another  mystery  of  Nature.  But  it  must  be 
admitted,  I  think,  although  I  do  not  know  what 
perfumers  would  say  on  the  point,  that  none  of  the 
musk  obtainable  from  these  animal  sources  has  the 
sweetly  delicate  scent  of  the  Mimulus  moschatus,  or 
garden  musk,  which  makes  our  gardens  so  fragrant 
after  a  shower  of  rain.  Such  as  it  is,  however,  the 
scent  of  the  Cuttle-fish  undoubtedly  gives  its  valuable 


Musk  and   Marriage  1 43 

quality  to  that  strange  substance,  ambergris,  whirh 
IS  scLTftt'd  by  the  sperm  whale  alone.  It  always 
smells  faintly  of  musk  and  ahva\s  has  Cuttle-hsh 
beaks  imbedded  in  its  substance.  But  its  properties, 
apart  from  those  lar.tastic  attributes  whicli  .Arabian 
superstition  has  attached  to  it,  ar  •  not  those  of  a 
prifume.  but  of  a  {)ower  that  accentuates,  heif^'htens 
the  ([uality  and  pungency  of  any  distillation  of  prrfume 
to  which  it  is  added.  Surely  a  strange  product  of 
such  a  weird  monster  brooding  in  the  depths  of  the 
sea. 

These  few  facts  almost  exhaust  what  we  know  of 
tlie  gigantic  Cuttle-tisii.  It  is  credited  with  other 
(iwilities,  which  we  need  not  place  too  much  faith  in, 
namely,  that  it  can  introduce  one  of  its  tentacles  into 
its  stomach  and  withdraw  from  thence  any  substance 
which  is  causing  it  uneasiness  ;  that  it  can,  if  bereft 
of  a  limb,  set  to  work  at  once  and  reproduce  the  lost 
member  ;  and  that  when  food  runs  short  below  it 
can  come  to  the  surface,  and  finding  a  becalmed  ship, 
lay  her  aboard  and  collect  from  her  cabin,  forecastle, 
and  rigging,  every  member  of  the  crew.  Strange 
enmigh  in  all  conscience,  but  no  stranger,  surely,  than 
Uiv  fact  I  reserve  for  the  last.  The  gigantic  Cuttle- 
lish  has  no  mate,  at  least  none  that  he  ever  knows. 
But  at  .Ttain  seasons  he  grows  an  additional  tentacle, 
a  curious,  dwarfed,  club-headed  thing,  which  looks 
strangely  out  of  place  among  the  ten  ordinary  ones.  In 
due  time  this  extra  tentacle  matures.  It  then  detaches 
Itself  from  the  crown  of  its  source  and  floats  away. 
In  due  time  it  finds  the  predestined  spouse,  to  which 
:t  immediately  attaches  itself.  And  in  this  extra- 
ordinary fashion  is  the  gigantic  Cuttle-iish  reproduced 
—surely  the  strangest  in  all  nati"-al  history  and  only 
comparable  to  the  grafting  of  fruit-trees.     But  the 


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144      The  Cuttle-fish  or  Sauid 


latter  is  not  neai.y  so  wonderful,  seeing  that  it  is 
most  c  in  fully  carried  out  by  tlie  hand  of  man  and 
with  all  the  resources  of  his  intelligence. 

With  this  I  complete  these  all-too-brief  sketrlies 
of  tlie  sea  mammals,  Sharks  and  Cuttles.  All  of 
these  creatures  are  so  sufficiently  interesting,  and  have 
so  many  anecdotes  clustering  around  them,  that  thev 
miglit  well  claim  a  book  to  themselves.  But,  in 
pursuance  of  the  original  idea  of  these  sketches  I  have 
sternly  resisted  the  temptation  to  '  pad  '  them  out, 
feeling  sure  that  the  scantier  the  information  given' 
consistent  with  interest,  the  better  will  it  be  retained. 
We  now  come  to  the  fish  of  the  deep  sea.  I  do  not 
suggest  that  the  shark,  already  dealt  with,  is  not  a 
fish,  but  he  is  a  fish  in  a  distinct  category  by  himself. 
I  have  noted  most  of  his  peculiarities,  ind  feel  sure 
that  my  readers  will  agree  with  me  when  I  say  that 
he  must  be  kept  apart  from  what  most  of  us  under- 
stand as  fish.  Wholesome  fish  with  scales  and  fins, 
that  is  ;  fish  that  v,  e  can  all  recognise  as  such,  whetlier 
they  swim  the  deep  sea  or  frequent  the  rivers  and 
ponds. 

Not,  be  it  undertsood,  that  I  would  cast  any 
reflection  upon  a  fish  because  he  was  not  beautiful 
as  say  a  mackerel  or  a  red  mullet.  That  would  be 
unfair,  especially  as  I  remember  a  fish  I  was  once 
acquainted  with  in  Hobson's  Bay,  called  locally  the 
'  fiat-head.'  It  was  simply  hideous,  and  its  colour 
that  of  dark  mud.  Moreover,  the  only  way  to  get  it 
off  a  hook  without  the  certainty  of  getting  a  poisoned 
wound,  that  would  certamly  incapacitate  one  for  a 
week  or  two,  vvas  to  fling  it  down  and  stick  a  knife 
through  the  base  of  its  head,  and  so,  holding  it  impaled, 
to  extract  the  hook.  Yet  as  food  it  was  in  every  way 
superb,  white  and  sapid  in  flesh,  and  in  flavour  de- 


•^ 


Beauty 


versus   Utility  1 45 


lirioiis.  Some  of  the  most  brilliantly  beautiful  fish 
I  have  ever  known  have  been  the  most  dangerous  to 
m:m  because  of  their  poisonous  qualities.  And  con- 
versely, some  of  the  most  ungainly,  dull,  and  quaint- 
looking  fish,  such  as  all  the  flat  fish  undoubtedly  are, 
are  the  most  useful,  the  most  valuable.  With  fish 
as  with  us,  beauty  is  but  skin  deep,  and  is  but  little 
index  to  the  deeper  and  more  lasting  qualities. 


H-^  ;t,'^-  ■  "K.;' ,'  j->  •;■  ■  y 


■■.-fc-.-V^% 


CHAPTER   XIII 
DEEP-SEA    CHIMiERAS 

IN  this  chapter  it  becomes  necessary  for  me  to  depart 
almost-  f^ntirely  from  my  usual  practice  of  drawing 

upon  p-'  -,o  il  experience,  for  very  obvious  reasons. 
The  extrionlinary  creatures  of  which  I  am  about  to 
write  I  have  called  cliimaras,  since  their  aspect  is  quite 
outre  and  startling,  even  horrible,  enough  to  justify  the 
epithet  fully.  And,  fortunately  for  the  peace  of  mind 
of  sailors,  the  latter  very  rarely  come  in  contact  with 
them.  They  have  their  abode  in  varying  depths  of 
the  dim  and  silent  sea,  and  only  of  comparatively  late 
years  has  any  study  of  them  been  possible. 

The  epoch-making  voyage  of  the  '  Challenger ' 
furnished  much  of  the  material  for  Dr.  Giinther's 
magnificent  work  on  deep-sea  fishes,  and  since  that 
time  other  nations,  notably  and  principally  the  Ameri- 
cans, have  been  carrying  on  the  same  deeply  interesting 
work.  One  striking  result  of  oceanic  investigation 
has  been  the  establishing  as  a  certainty  that  fish,  highly 
developed  and  normally  organised  fish,  can  and  do 
exir,t  at  great  dejiths,  but  what  those  depths  are  cannot 
in  the  nature  of  things  be  determined  with  any  accuracy. 
For  the  net  in  which  these  fish  are  caught  is  open  all 
the  time  both  descending  and  ascending,  and  con- 
sequently fish  which  are  well  known  to  be  surface 
dwellers  have  bxm  drawn  up,  much  distorted,  from  a 
depth  of  two  thousand  fathoms  or  more. 

I4« 


Decp'Sea  Mystery  I47 

Also  it  follows  from  the  method  necessarily  employed 
in  their  capture  that  great  and  extraordinary  as  are  the 
varieties  of  deep-sea  lish  now  known,  there  must  be  a 
\.  TV  great  number  more  who,  by  reason  of  their  agility 
nr  their  size,  have  never  been,  and  can  hardly  be  ex- 
pected to  be,  caught.  Still,  of  shcll-lish  or  slow-moving 
species  of  shell-less  fish  a  goodly  harvest  has  been 
-athLied  from  all  depths,  even  to  the  greatest,  so  that 
it  is  now  known  that  in  the  most  profound  abysses  of 
ocean,  such  as  that  vast  chasm  in  the  South  Pacific  on 
the  north  and  east  of  New  Zealand,  where  a  measured 
di'pth  of  nearly  thirty-one  thousand  feet  has  been 
]:ilunibed,  there  is  abundant  life  at  the  bottom,  although 
it  is,  as  far  as  is  known,  of  a  low  order. 

In  these  Jays  of  amazing  strides  in  science  it  is 
extremely  risky  to  prophesy  of  anytiiing  that  it  can 
never  be  fully  investigated,  but  if  there  be  one  thing  of 
which  it  seems  safe  to  predict  that  our  knowledge  has 
ilmost  reached  its  limit,  it  is  that  of  life  at  great  sea- 
cK-pths.     For  one  thing,  and  that  an  exceedingly  im- 
portant one,  such  investigation  can  promise  no  great 
commercial  or  even  scientific  gain.     Its  pursuit  can  at 
the  best  be  only  rewarded  by  the  acquisition  of  much 
curious,  out-of-the-way  knowledge  of  a  side  of  life  at 
present  involved  in  deepest  mystery.     But  just  because 
It  IS  so  mysterious,  because  the  conditions  of  living  at 
those  vast  depths,  under  those  amazing,  almost  unthink- 
able  {.    ssures,  is   almost   as   difficult   for  our   sense- 
perceptions  to  apprehend  as  those  of  life  in  Jupiter  or 
Saturn  or  the  Sun,  so  ardent  seekers  after  new  truth 
will  undoubtedly  be  irresistibly  attracted  by  what  I 
^liould   like    to   call   Oceanology,    the   term   Oceanic 
ichthyology  being  to  my  mmd  far  too  cumbrous  for 
ordinary  use. 

it  has  several  times  been  my  privilege  (not  at  all 


MS 


s 


148  Deep'Sea  Chim^eras 

apjjreciated  at  the  tinii^)  to  see  ome  very  queer  fi-!i 
upon  thr  >ea-surfaee  in  remote  parts  of  the  ocean  duriii^ 
lull;-  conipi'te  lahiis.  At  suiii  tnr.es  the  apparent 
stagnation  1  '  the  sea  (1  say  apparmt,  because  it  is 
imj'ossiLI  ■  for  the  .-ca  ever  to  be  rea.y  staj;nant)  has 
the  strange  effect  of  inducing  the  denizens  of  the  low-r 
strata  'o  C(  me  *o  the  surfat  e,  although  how  th;  v 
accommodate  then^sclves  to  the  great  changes  of  pro- 
sun  they  lust  experience  is  a  matter  quite  beyond 
my  eumpreiiensi'>n.  The  m.  re  so  as,  when  I  Iiave  bun 
fishing  at  a  de^  '.\  of  from  four  to  six  liundred  fut, 
my  victims  have  invariably  come  to  the  sinface  with 
evert'  d  viscera,  due,  witliout  doubt,  to  the  sudden 
chang     of     ressure  upon  tium. 

But  these  extraordinary  visitors  to  an  upper  sphere, 
whi  re  they  stared  glassily  at  the  unfamiliar  sunlight, 
and  moved  sluggishly  and  aimlessly  about  as  if  be- 
wildered, were  in  no  way  hampered  apparentlv  by  the 
loss  of  any  important  internal  furniture.  They  were 
never  large,  and  many  of  them  were  of  a  very  low  order 
of  animal,  notably  one,  the  only  part  of  which  tliat 
looked  complete  being  its  head  ;  the  bodv,  about  four 
feet  long,  ribbon-like  and  about  four  inches  wide, 
being  perfectly  tran^]'an  :it,  ahnost  impalpably  so. 
Through  that  phantom-like  covering  one  couid  see 
every  detail  of  the  slender  vertebr..e,  watch  all  the 
alim  ntary  processes  ;  indeed,  it  was  as  if  by  some 
curious  process  of  radiography  the  flesh  had  disap- 
peared, leaving  only  the  scanty  internal  details  visible. 
Yet  the  head,  as  I  have  hinted,  was  solid  enough,  and 
perfect  in  every  detail,  having  tv  o  brilliant  eyes  and  a 
well-furnished  mouth  of  teeth. 

Anotlier  straiige  beast  that  I  managed  to  capture 
in  a  draw-bru  ket,  so  sluggish  was  he,  has  ever  been 
present  since  to  my  mental  \  ision.     Many  queer  \\  ' 


A  Freak  Fis^ 


1+9 


Iiavc  I  ?orn  >ince  then,  both  in  rcphty  and  in  their 
counterfeit  j)rc>rntnunts,  l)iit  none  with  such  a  wealth 
(if  .[ti.iint  deeuiation  as  tliis.     lie  was  about  eighteen 
inrhes  Ion-,',  with  an  angular  head  like  a  gurnard,  and  a 
body  shajied  like  a  haddock.     So  that  in  hrs  general 
contour  there  was  nothing  particularly  strange.     But 
liis  colour  was  bright  green,  at  least  that  was  the  ground, 
so  to  sixik,  of  liis  scheme  of  deroratif)n.     Scattered 
a])out  his  body  were  brilliant    crimson  spots,  mostly 
(ircular  and  about  half-an  inch   in   diameter.     From 
each  of  tliese  spots  there  sprouted  a  tassel  of  bright 
blue  upon  a  yellow  stalk  about  one  inch  in  length.     All 
his  tins  were  also  extensively  fringed  with  blue  filaments, 
\shii  h  kept  up  a  perpetual  fluttering,  however  still  the 
body  might  be.     His  tail  was,  for  his  body,  enormous, 
hi  iug  quite  as  wide  a^  his  body  was  long  and  also  fringed 
profusely  with  blue.     His  eyes  had  no  speculation  in 
tlr  ni  or  decided  colour  ;   in  fact  they  had  the  appear- 
ance of  being  boiled.     And  over  each  of  them  protruded 
a  vcllow  horn  about  three  inches  long,  with  a  pendant 
ta'-^cl  of  blue  on  the  end  of  it,  which  dangled  down  at  the 
angle  of  a  conspicuously  large  mouth.     And  on  the 
back  of  the  creature  rose  a  brilliant  crimson  dorsal  fin 
running  the  whole  length  of  the   animal,  about  two 
indies  high,  and  terminating  in  a  long  spike  running 
fonvard  over  his  nose.     This  also  had  a  blue  tassel, 
larger  than  any  of  the  others,  dangling  from  it.     The 
whole  made  up  a  toitf  ensemble  that  I  think  warrants 
n  c  in  giving  so  full  a  description  of  him. 

Yet  in  spite  of  the  extraordinary  development,  both 
in  shape  and  colour,  the  fish  as  a  fish  was  not  queer 
Prepared  for  cooking  he  would  have  c\cited  no  com- 
ment. But  that  cannot  be  said  of  the  extraordinary 
creatures  captured  and  desrr.oed  by  the  members 
of  the  various  expeditions  that  have  been  exploring 


3 


150  Deep'Sea  Chimceras 


the  deep  sea  during  this  last  quarter  of  a  century.  The 
sahent  note  of  these  cliiniaras  strikes  me  as  beirif,' 
paradox.  You  shall  find  one  fish  of  normal  shape  with 
enormous  eyes,  which  will  strikr  one  as  being  indicated 
as  necessary  at  those  dim  depths.  I3ut  the  next  one, 
apparently  of  the  same  species  as  far  as  outline  goes  and 
depth  of  liabitat,  has  but  the  rudiments  of  eyes,  mere 
pin-points  of  black  on  each  side  of  the  head.  Again, 
two  fish  are  brought  up  from  apparently  the  same 
depths.  One  has  an  enormous  body,  with  corre- 
sponding stomach,  and  a  mouth  which  will  barely  admit 
the  little  finger  ;  the  other  has  a  body  like  a  whip-thong, 
or,  say,  a  small  eel,  tapering  to  a  vanishing  point,  and 
a  mouth  like  a  pelican's  exactly.  One  fish  will  have  a 
stomach  large  enough  to  contain  a  fish  as  big  as  himself 
(the  stomach  expanding,  of  course)  in  the  usual  situa- 
tion for  that  organ  ;  another  has  a  maw  equally  large, 
but  it  is  on  the  back  !  for  all  the  world  like  the  hump 
of  a  deformed  camel.  Other  fish  have  immense  tail  fins, 
v.hile  close  relatives  have  absolutely  none,  their  bodies 
tapering  off  to  nothing,  without  the  vestige  of  a  fin. 

Now  I  am  fully  aware  that  all  this  sounds  like 
the  rioting  of  a  luxuriant  imagination,  but  the  illustra- 
tions are  taken  from  life,  and  I  do  not  think  they 
will  lead  any  one  to  believe  that  I  have  exaggerated 
at  all.  And  it  should  also  be  remembered  that  those 
specimens  that  we  have,  picked  up  as  they  have  been 
in  widely  separated  areas  of  ocean  and  at  various 
times,  are  not  likely  to  be  even  representative  of  the 
strange  sub-oceanic  life.  They  only  afford  a  glimpse, 
as  it  were,  into  this  secret  realm  of  Nature  where  she 
has  outdone  herself  in  the  fashioning  of  strange  mon- 
sters. One  other  remark  must  be  made  before  pro- 
ceeding to  particularise  some  individuals ;  it  is  con- 
cerning light. 


'4 


WAIK     \.\l"l!il-:     HAS     ()ITl»n\K     IlKKSin.F     l.\ 


w:--'' 


^£2^^^--:^ 

i 


Self  Illuminators 


151 


•  r^/-, 


Most  of  us  know  well  how  in  the  marvellous  economy 
of  Nature  the  sea  is  illuminated,  and  tluit  brilliantly 
too,  by  the  presente  of  myriads  of  infusoria  emitting; 
phosphorescence.     The  slightest  agitation   in   the  sea 
(luses  these  marine  glow-worms  or  iiro-flies  to  shed 
all  the  light  they  are  capable  of,  and  thus  the  passage 
of  one  fish  is  made  exceedingly  obvious  to  another, 
who  may  be  pursuing  him  or  desirous  of  avoiding  him. 
I^ut  this  illumination  varies  in  degree  from  diffiTing 
causes,  and  sometimes  the  sea  is  almost  totally  devoid 
of  any  light.     It  may  be,  too,  that  as  this  natural 
light  is  affected  in  degree  by  certain  causes  operating 
near  the  surface  or  horizontally,  so  it  is  affected  by 
vertical   position.     We  do   not   know.     What   we  do 
krow  is  that  many  deep-sea  fish   have,   as  it  were, 
their  own  electric  light  installation,  row  upon  row  or 
group  after  group  of  tiny  incandescent  lamps,  glowing 
and  fading  at  the  will  of  their  owner,  rendering  him 
invisible  at  will  or  lighting  up  the  surrounding  sea  so 
that  none  of  his  intended   victims   may  be   hidden. 
These  tiny  glow-lamps  are  arranged  along  the  sides 
and  head  of  the  fish  in  strangely  regular  rows  or  groups, 
each    differing    species    that    possess  this  system  of 
self-illumination  having  them  different. 

One  thing  more.  In  dealing  with  these  fearsome 
denizens  of  the  vasty  deep  I  must  pe.  force  use  the 
no-less  appalling  nomenclature  given  them  by  natu- 
ralists, since  other  names  they  have  none.  For 
this  I  hope,  under  the  circumstances,  I  shall  be 
forgiven. 

It  is  a  commonplace  with  naturalists  in  dealing 
with  deep-sea  fish  that  several  of  their  most  interesting 
species  have  come  fortuitously  to  hand.  No  amount 
of  care  or  scientific  appliances  could  have  secured 
them,  and  but  for  the  accident  of  their  coming  to  the 


ft: 

■  ■** 

,   .>. 

.  5 

H;^''#^ 

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..-'  <ac 

^B' 

M  '** 

^^Bt 

--  5 

^B'^ 

♦c 

^  ^ 

^^Bi/''* 

fl>i' 

■^-n 

|<v  % 


152  Deep'Sea  Chim.ieras 

surface  orrn«;inn.ill\'  iindrr  the  stn^s"?  nf  ^nmc  m^r 
pulsory  rirrnmstaiico  of  wliidi  we  know  iiotliiiii:, 
we  should  never  have  known  of  their  e\i«teii<(\  Of 
such  is  the  Reijalrcus  or  Oar-fi^h,  so  ealh>d  from  tlic 
*-  rt  that  it  has  th(>  two  ventral  fins,  which  sprinc 
from  the  throat,  if  von  please,  jti^t  bencatli  the  pectorals, 
enormously  elongated,  slcnd(T  and  witli  paddle-shaped 
terminals,  as  if,  indeed,  it  had  developed  two  oar'^  to 
assist  its  progress  through  the  water.  But  its  chief 
claim  to  our  notice  lies  in  thef.ict  that  it  has  undoubt- 
edly furnished  forth  the  materials  for  many  a  sea- 
serpent  story,  as  will  be  seen  in  th  chapter  on  sea- 
serpents. 

It  has  been  found  stranded  in  many  places  roimd  the 
world,  in  places  as  \vid(^ly  separat(vi  as  England.  India. 
and  Now  Zealand.  Dr.  Ciiinther  records  nearly  fifty 
instances  of  its  being  found  and  carefull\'  examined, 
so  that  its  existence  admits  of  no  doubt.  It  has  been 
found  twenty  feet  in  length,  by  about  eijrhtcen  inches 
in  depth,  but  very  narrow  in  proportion.  And  it  is 
more  than  probable  that  it  grows  very  much  longer 
than  this  in  its  mysterious  haunts  in  the  deep  sea. 
It  has  a  large  dorsal  fin  extending  the  whole  length 
of  its  body,  developing  at  the  front  end  into  nino 
spines,  from  twelve  to  eighteen  inches  in  length, 
which  branch  out  diagonally  forward  over  the  creature's 
nose,  but  curve  backward  towards  the  tips.  Its  head 
is  insignificant  compared  with  its  body,  and  its  curiously 
small  mouth,  not  at  all  unlike  a  sturgeon's,  is  destitute 
of  teeth,  showing  its  absolute  harmlessness. 

For  some  reason  difficult  to  understand  it  has 
been  called  by  fishermen  the  King  of  the  Herrings. 
Perhaps  they  connect  its  appearance  with  large  catches 
of  that  useful  fish,  but  one  would  have  thought  that 
the  title  must  belong  of  right  to  the  tarpon,  which 


A  Possibit   S^a'Serpent       1 53 


i;  a  hnva   fiih-  h'  -rinR   and  snmotimcs   scales   in   tlir 
virinitv  of  two  linndrrd  pound-;. 

It  will,  I  tliink,  be  roadily  understood  that  a  prcat 
.(■rprntinc    fisli    like    this,    totally    unlike    any    otli.r 
tish  with   which    the   ordinary   fisherman   or   sailor   is 
;i(-qiiainted,   appearing  with  sinuous,  stealtliy  glidinL; 
.ilniif,'    the    sea-surface,    say   in    the   early    twili-ht    of 
mnrnin-,    might    very   er.sily   give    rise,    with    a    little 
([uite  excusable  exaggeration,  to  a  story  of  a  sea-serpent. 
It  will  be  rcmembned  too,  that,  in  many  sea-serpent 
y.irns,  the  monster  is  represented  as  having  a   mane 
and  oar-like  fms.      Here  m   Kcf^alccus  the  conditions 
arc  favourable  to  such  a  desrriiition— the  extraordinary 
dorsal    dc\  lopmcnt    and     the    oar-shaped    ventrals 
nnd'.iibtec'',  .•  iding  themselves  to  such  a  conclusion. 
As  with  il;o  rest  of  the  deep-sea  chimieras,  nothing 
is  or  can  be  known  of  the  hab.ts  of  the  Rcsalccus. 
We  can  only  say  that  it  has  an  enormous  ranr;e  of 
habitat,   lives  in   deep  water   upon   small   organisms, 
and  is  sometimes  constrained  to  come  to  the  surface, 
wli.  n,  if  near  shore,  its  feeble  powers  of  locomotion  (I 
l..ive  omitted  to  state  the  tail  fin  is  entirely  absent) 
are  not  suf=ficient  to  enable  it  to  keep  off  the  land. 
In  colour  the  Rcgalccus  is  a  silvery  grey,  with  a  few 
darker  spots  near  the   tail.     Deep-sea  fishes  do  not 
run  to  elaborate  colourings. 

The  next  monster  down  for  notice  is  a  very  good 
s:  .  imcn  of  the  deep-sea  chimara,  Chia'^modon  nigcr. 
It  is  a  veritable  nightmare  in  appearance,  being  entirely 
bluk  in  colour,  with  a  mouth  that  cleaves  the  head 
a'^nnder  laterally  for  its  whole  length,  so  that  vulgarly 
spr.iking,  when  its  mouth  is  wide  open  it  has  no  profile. 
This  immense  mouth  is  furnished  with  equally  effective 
tfoth,  which  are  not  only  found  in  the  jaws  but  on  the 
palate  also.     Its  front  teeth  are  hor.k(  d  and  movable, 


;:j 


is 


!2  ^i 


JQi^ 


MICROCOPY    RESOLUTION    TEST    CHART 

ANSI  o::d  ISO  UST  CHART  No    2 


1.0 


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2.2 

2.0 
1.8 


1.25 


1.4 


1.6 


^PPLJED   I^A^GE     Inc 


716)   482  -  0300  -  Phone 


154  Deep^Sea  Chimeras 


so  that  while  they  may  be  pushed  inward  to  admit  of 
the  cntiance  of  prey,  tlicy  effectually  prevent  it  from 
coming  out.  This  peculiarity  is  explained  by  a  sh  >t 
exami'iation  of  the  creature's  feeding  habits.  It  c  ui 
and  jes  swallow  entire  fish  actually  larger  than  itself — 
which  sounds  impossible,  but  it  is  not.  For  the  belly 
of  this  atrocious  glutton  is  like  an  india-'-ubber  bladder 
which  may  be  expanded  amazingly.  And  consequently 
by  dint  of  perseverance  Chiasmodon  can  and  does  draw 
himself  on  to  the  body  of  another  fish,  as  it  were,  until 
the  visitor  is  snugly  coiled  away  in  that  expanding 
bag,  which  being  transparent,  shows  plainly  from  the 
outside  the  position  of  its  occupant. 

In  other  respects  Chiasmodon  is  rather  an  elegant 
fish,  quite  normally  fish-like,  w^hich  one  would  hardly 
expect,  considermg  the  great  depths  from  which  it 
has  been  brought.  The  '  Challenger's '  trawl  brought 
up  one  in  mid-Atlantic  from  a  depth  of  one  thousand 
five  hundred  fathoms,  or  nine  thousand  feet.  Another 
specimen  was  brought  up  from  a  depth  of  three  hun- 
dred and  twelve  fathoms,  near  Madeira.  But  several 
have  been  found  floating  upon  the  sea-surface,  having 
succumbed  to  a  very  natural  disaster  considering 
their  habit  of  gorging,  namely,  they  have  burst ! 
And  the  tissues  becoming  inflated  with  gas  have 
rapidly  raised  the  dead  mass  from  the  immense  depths 
in  which  it  has  lived  to  the  revealing  glare  of  day, 
to  become  the  wonder  and  awe  of  us  beings  of  the 
surface.  This  extraordinary  creature  is  one  of  the 
best  known  and  most  fully  described  of  all  the  abyssal 
fish,  as  it  is  certainly  one  of  the  most  wonderful. 

Two  very  peculiar  little  fish  next  demand  notice 
from  the  fact  that,  although  very  similar  in  size,  in 
outline,  and  in  depth  of  habitat,  they  have  in  certain 
respects  the  most  widely  marked  differences  imaginable. 


1 


D 


Sea  Paradoxes 


155 


Thoy  are  black,  chubby  creatures,  with  enormous 
niovithG  compared  with  their  length,  which  in  the 
specimens  given  is  from  four  to  five  inches.  And  they 
are  called  Rondcldia  and  Cetomimns.  Now  Rondcldia 
lias  an  eye,  of  which  the  diameter  is  one-sixth  the 
length  of  the  head,  or  about  twice  as  large  in  proportion 
to  "its  size  as  is  the  human  eye.  Ccfomimus  has  an 
ove  which  is  but  a  point  like  a  pin's  head,  its  diameter 
bring  one  twenty-third  the  length  of  the  head,  or  less 
than  the  sixteenth  of  an  inch.  Rondcldia  has  no  trace 
of  a  lateral  line,  that  general  characteristic  of  hshes, 
but  Cdomimiis  has  double  lateral  lines,  the  two  pari'Uels 
being  joined  here  and  there  by  bands  much  like  the 
ladder  tape  of  a  Venetian  blind.  The  depths  from 
wliich  these  strange  little  fish  have  been  taken  vary 
from   one   thousand   to   one   thousand  five   hundred 

fathoms. 

As  an  instance  of  the  diversity  obtaining  between 
deep-sea  fish,  scarcely  any  specimens  could  be  found 
more  appropriate  than  Simcnchdys  and  Eurypharynx, 
whose    amazing    names    are    really    justified    by    the 
quccmess  of  the  fish.     Simcnchdys  abides  anywhere 
from  one  to  five  hundred  fathoms  down.     He  is  black, 
a  dirty  black,  as  are  most  of  the  deep-dwellmg  fish, 
and  has  a  comfortably  stout  body,  much  like  that  of  a 
stalwart   eel.     But   his   mouth   gives   great   occasion 
for  wonder  as  to  how  he  can  possibly  obtain  food 
through  such  a  tiny  opening.     It  is  the  most  insignifi- 
cant  orifice  imaginable,   comparable  only   (and  pro- 
portionately) to  a  hole  made  in  the  end  of  a  sausage 
with  a  flat  skewer.     But  presently  it  is  found  that 
this  queer  fish  is  really  a  sort  of  gigantic  leech.     He 
attaches  himself  to  the  bodies  of  the  larger,  fleshier 
fish,  such  as  the  haUbut.  and  by  sheer  force  of  suction 
and  boring  withal  works  his  ravenous  way  right  into 


?-■■ 


c^ 


ijG  Deep-Sea  Chfmaeras 

tlicir  l)()cli(.s.  at  whai  misery  to  his  involunto.ry  hosrs 
can  only  be  imagined. 

It  is  curious  and  instructive  to  comparf-  him  with 
Eitrypharynx,  will  surnamed  PcUcuuuidcs,  who,  witli 
a  body  like  tlie  thong  of  a  stock-whip,  has  a  head  about 
thrice  its  body's  bulk,  and  jaws  opening  exactly  like 
the  mandil)lrs  of  a  pelican.  This  amazing  mouth 
si)lits  t!ie  big  head  right  in  two  lengthways  and  the 
eyes  are  situated  right  at  the  end  of  the  upper  jaw, 
looking  indeed  like  tiny  nostrils,  for  they  are  mere 
points.  Yet  for  all  its  fearsome  appearance  this  is 
evidently  one  of  the  most  harniless  of  lish.  It  appears 
to  live  upon  the  tiniest  marine  organisms,  which  in 
some  unexplainable  way  it  collects  in  its  chasm  of  a 
mouth  from  the  surrounding  sea.  It  has  no  teeth,  a 
tail  tapering  off  like  the  lash  of  a  whip,  and  for  all 
sign  of  fins  a  scries  of  spines  protruding  from  its  back 
and  belly  without  an\-  membranes  between  them. 

A  deep-water  fish  akin  to  Chiasmodon,  and  found 
at  a  depth  of  nine  hundred  fathoms,  has  an  even  wider 
mouth,  but  no  teeth  in  the  lower  jaw.  Its  only  fins 
are  a  pair  of  rudimentary  pectorals  with  the  gill-slits 
behind  them.  About  fourteen  inches  of  its  body  is 
mainly  stomach,  through  the  walls  of  which  transparent 
organ  may  be  seen  calmly  reposing  the  body  of  a 
large  fish  which  has  been  induced  to  take  up  its  per- 
manent abode  there.  But  the  rest  of  the  body,  four 
feet  or  so,  is  like  a  whip-lash.  In  the  specimen  before 
me  there  appears  to  be  one  fish  going  ahead  and  another 
going  astern,  tw^o  heads  on  the  same  body,  for  the  head 
of  the  swallowed  fish  seems  about  to  emerge  from  the 
rear  of  the  stomach  and  swim  away.  It  is  a  very  quaint 
beast  indeed,  and  rejoices  or  suffers  under  the  euphoni- 
ous epithet  of  Saccopharynx  fiageHum. 

Alcpisaurns  fcrox  is  the  name  given  to  a  fish  that 


A  Swift  Glutton 


^57 


at  first  sight  is  not  at  all  unlike  the  gigantic  mack.Tcl 
called  the  sword-fish.  Its  body  is  certainly  soiTK.'uhat 
slLuderer,  and  it  has  no  sword  protruding  from  its 
'liipcr  jaw,  but  in  contour  of  body,  arrangfin  nt  of 
l;iis,  and  especially  tlie  huge  sail-like  dorsal,  it  is  very 
similar.  This  last  extraordinary  member  is  like  the 
upper  third  of  a  circle,  cut  off  horizontally.  In  the 
centre  it  is  twice  as  high  as  the  body  is  wide,  and  its 
limits  fore  and  aft  are  from  the  neck  to  a  few  inches 
forward  of  the  tail.  Its  head  is  fer()cious-l(K)king 
t'iDUgh  to  justify  its  Latin  title,  even  if  its  t-erce 
voracity  were  not  known  by  the  contents  of  its  stomach, 
one  having  been  found  with  twenty-seven  specinvMis 
of  the  spiny  lump-fish  within  its  maw.  It  has  not 
many  teeth,  but  they  are  large  and  fang-like,  also  tliey 
point  backwards  into  the  mouth,  obviously  to  prevent 
the  wriggling  outwards  of  living  prey.  Like  several 
(jther  predatory  fish  whose  attacks  are  cliaracterised 
by  swift  directness,  this  creature  has  the  lower  jaw 
longer  than  the  upper,  reminding  one  strongly  of  the 
pike.  Altogether  .1.  fcrox  is  an  elegant  warlike-looking 
tish,  whose  appearance  is  not  at  all  oidrd,  even  though 
it  does  frequent  great  deptlis. 

Its  range  is  very  great,  specimens  having  been  found 
in  the  North-Western  Atlantic,  in  Australian  seas, 
and  in  the  Nortliern  Pacific.  But  this  may  safely 
l)c  predicated  of  nearly  all  deep-sea  fishes,  the  tempera- 
ture below  a  thousand  feet  being  every wliere  the  same, 
(.xcept  where  submarine  geysers  send  their  boiling 
waters  up  into  the  superincumbent  ocean.  .\nd  as 
the  compo-sition  of  the  ocean  waters  is  practically 
the  same  everywhere,  it  may  be  reasonably  inferred 
that  denizens  of  waters  below  the  fixed  temperature 
line  will  be  found  all  the  watery  world  over  wherever 
the  ocean  is  deep  enough,  whuh,  indeed,  has  so  far 


r> 


^ 

* 

!?-» 

::::» 

^ 

'  .  • 

^ 

"JZ 

~i 

>-  >« 

■.^- 

» 

••-1 

5^ 

i 

'M 


158  Deep'Sea  Chimceras 

proved  to  be  the  fact  wherever  the  number  of  in- 
dividuals caught  admits  of  distinction  of  habitat. 

The  chief  wonder  about  this  fish,  however,  is  its 
extreme  fragility.  It  is  so  brittle  that  handling  it  is 
almost  an  impossibility  without  breaking  it.  It  is 
quite  impossible  to  preserve  an  entire  specimen 
without  some  portion  of  its  fins  being  damaged,  and 
should  it  be  let  fall  it  would  sliiver  like  glass.  Dr. 
Giinther  says  that  '  this  is  a  condition  consequent  upon 
their  withdrawal  from  the  pressure  of  the  water  to 
which  they  are  exposed  in  the  depths  where  they 
dwell.  When  within  the  limits  of  their  natural  haunts 
the  osseous,  muscular,  and  fibrous  parts  of  the  body 
will  have  that  solidity  which  is  required  for  the  rapid 
and  powerful  movements  of  a  predatory  fish.'  This 
is  indeed  a  curious  state  of  things,  that  a  creature 
too  fragile  to  endure  handling  at  the  surface  can 
indulge  in  fierce,  relentless  warfare  in  those  awful 
depths,  where  pressures  are  so  great  as  to  force  water 
through  the  pores  of  cast  steel.  But  there  is  no  doubt 
about  the  fact,  for  some  of  the  lightest  shells  known, 
a  species  of  Janthina,  more  like  a  soap-bubble  than 
anything  stronger,  have  been  dredged  up  from  enormous 
depths,  and,  lying  upon  the  laboratory  table,  an 
incautious  breath  has  shattered  them. 

I  judge  from  this  peculiarity  on  the  part  of  deep-sea 
fish  that  a  curious  fish,  often  found  after  the  cold 
weather  lying  upon  the  beaches  in  various  parts  of 
New  Zealand,  must  be  a  deep-sea  fish.  It  is  locally 
called  a  Frost-fish.  It  is  very  long,  five  feet  or  so, 
and  narrow,  only  about  four  inches  wide  by  two  inches 
thick.  It  has  a  very  large  mouth  and  quite  insignificant 
fins,  tail  included,  but  dorsal  fins  running  the  whole 
length  of  its  body.  Lying  upon  the  beach  in  the 
moonlight,  it  looks  Uke  a  riband  of  silver,  and  running 


A  Deep'Sea  Beauty  1 59 


incautiouslv  up  to  one  once,  I  found  to  my  astonishment 
t!;at  as  I  lifted  it  by  the  middle  it  broke  into  four 
pieces  as  if  it  had  been  a  bar  of  lightly  frozen  snow. 
It  is  a  fish  much  prized  by  New  Zealand  folk  for  the 
table,  but  it  is  never  caught  except  when  it  gets 
stranded  as  I  have  described.  It  is  almost  if  not  quite 
identical  with  Bcnthodcsmus  Atlanticus,  found  in  the 
stomach  of  a  halibut  cauglit  on  the  Grand  Bank  of 
Newfoundland,  also  in  the  West  Indian  Seas,  South 
Pacific,  and  coast  of  Japan. 

A  fish  of  only  quasi  deep-sea  habits,  whose  name, 
bestowed  by  naturalists,  boasts  of  eleven  syllables, 
Lopholatilus  chamaeleonticcps,  was  a  quarter  of  a  century 
ago  an  object  of  deepest  interest  and  discussion  among 
tliat  hardy  and  most  enterprising  class,  the  American 
deep-water  fishermen.  In  1879  it  is  recorded  that 
the  '  Wm.  V.  Hutchings,'  while  setting  trawl-lines 
for  cod  on  Nantucket  shoals,  caught  several  hundred 
specimens.  It  was  entirely  unlike  anything  ever 
known  in  American  waters,  and  as  it  was  large,  averag- 
ing three  feet  long  by  ten  inches  high  and  four  inches 
through,  it  was  thought  and  hoped  that  a  discovery  of 
great  commercial  value  had  been  made.  And  the 
first  thing  done  was  to  give  it  a  handy  name,  without 
regard  to  any  fitness  of  application.  So  it  was  called 
the  Tile-fish,  from  the  fourth  syllable  of  its  hybrid 
GrcTco-Latin  name    Lopholatilus. 

Most  unusually,  D;.  Goode,  who  describes  it,  goes 
into  something  very  like  a  rapture  over  it,  even  to 
the  length  of  using  superlatives.  In  addition  to  the 
usual  notes  upon  structure,  etc.,  he  says  :  '  The 
colours  are  very  beautiful,  and  in  general  appearance 
when  taken  from  the  water  it  is  one  of  the  loveliest 
fish  we  have  ever  seen,  no  exception  being  made  in 
favour  cf  the  brilliant  parrot-fish  or  angel-fish  of  the 


I  Go 


Deep'Sea  Chimeras 


Wc^t  Indian  coral  groves.  Rack  bluish,  with  a  green 
tiiiL,'!',  iridescent,  clKinL,'iiig  tlirough  purphsh-blue  and 
bluisli-grev  to  rosy-white  below,  and  mili<y-white 
towards  the  median  line  of  tlie  belly.  Head  rosy, 
iridi-cent,  with  nd  tints  most  al)undant  on  the  fore- 
hiMd,  blue  under  tlie  eyes,  cheeks  fawn-coloured. 
Throat  and  undir->ide  of  the  head  pearly-wliite,  with 
an  occasional  tint  of  lemon-yellow,  this  most  pro- 
nounced in  front  of  the  ventrals  and  on  the  anterior 
portion  of  ventral  tins.  Back  witli  numerous  macula- 
tions  of  bright  lemon  or  golden.  Anal  fm  purplish, 
with  blue  and  rose  tints,  iridescent.  Margin  of  anal 
fin  ricli  j)urplish-blue,  iridescent  like  the  most  beautiful 
mother-of-pearl  ;  this  colour  pervading  more  or  less 
tlie  whole  fin,  which  has  large  yellow  maculations. 
The  lower  border  is  rose-coloured  like  the  belly,  and 
the  base  of  the  fin  also  partakes  of  this  general  hue. 
Dashes  of  milk-white  on  the  base  of  the  anal  fin 
between  the  rays.  Pectorals  sepia-coloured  with  rosy 
and  purphsh  iridescence.' 

Tliere  is  not  really  much  wonder  that  the  learned 
doctor  should  go  m  for  word-painting  like  this,  es- 
pecially as  the  subject  of  his  remarks  is  beautiful  in 
form  as  well  as  colour,  and  nearly  all  the  fishes  he  had 
hitherto  been  describing  are  black,  leaden-grey  or 
livid  toad-belly  white.  But  apart  from  the  splendour 
of  this  fish,  its  brief  history  as  one  of  the  American 
food  fislies  is  a  marvellous  object-lesson  in  the 
climatic  inliuences  affecting  fish.  In  1879  the  first 
catch  of  a  large  number  was  reported  as  noted 
above,  and  througliout  the  years  1880-82  the 
governmental  fishery  vessels  v/ere  busy  examining 
the  sea  for  the  limits  of  the  new  (?)  fishes'  feeding- 
ground  and  experimenting  on  the  best  way  of 
catching  them. 


J 


A  Gigantic  Holocaust         l6l 


But  early  in  1882  vessels  amving  at  the 
Eastern  American  ports  reported  passing  large 


North- 
lumbers 
A  dead  or  dying  tisli  floating  over  an  aiea  of  many 
miles,  of  which  the  majority  were  Tile-tish.     It  very 
-non  became  apparent  that  an  awful  destruction  of 
ti>li  had  taken  place,  for  vessels  reported  having  sailed 
through  floating  fisli  for  forty,  hfty,  and  sixty  miles. 
And  in  one  case,  the  schooner  '  Xavarino  '  reported 
having  s.iiled  for  one  hundred  and  hfty  miles  through 
v,:.tcrs   rovfred   from   horizon   to   horizon   with   dead 
,  ;ui  dving  tir,h.     There  were  no  siijns  of  disease  on 
the  victims,  or  diadly  parasites,  and  conjecture  was 
ha^v  as  to  the  cau.-e  of  this  wliolcsale  destruction  of  a 
n.wly    di-covered    and    valuable    food-fish  ;     whether 
siihinarine  volcanoes,  with  their  concomitants  of  heat 
and  poisonous  gases,  or  a  sudilcn  fall  in  the  temperature, 
w,i-  r(-;ionsible.     Finahy,   throu-h   the  researches  of 
l'i,;l\-,>or  Verrill,   it  was  decided  that  owing  to  the 
nirvalcnre  of  heavy  northerly  gales  and  the  presence 
of  much  coast   ice  in  the  north,   the  normally  high 
tiinix'i-ature  of  the  Gulf  Stream  and  its  vicinity  had 
l)(vn  suddrnlv  lowered,  bringing  death  to  countless 
millions  of  its  sensitive  inhabitants.     And  this  theory 
pressed  for  acceptance,  as  there  had  been  no  indications 
of  any  submarine  volcanic  disturbances. 

So  complete  did  the;  destruction  of  the  Tile-fish 
nppc::r  to  be,  that  a  chapter  was  devoted  to  it  by 
Mr.  Lucas  in  the  Report  of  the  National  Museum 
(Washington)  for  iSSg,  on  '  Animals  Recently  E.xtinct.' 
1-or  all  attempts  made  by  the  Fishery  Commission 
vessels  to  obtain  even  a  single  specimen  were  fruitless. 
But  in  1892  several  specimens  were  obtained  in  its 
old  haunts,  from  a  depth  of  between  seventy  and 
eighty  fathoms  of  water,  thus  restoring  the  Tile-hsh 
to  Its"  place  Jn  the  lists  of  exi.^tmg  libh  of  the  American 

II 


•t3 


'S 


«./. 


5$l 


4Ss, 


162  Deep'Sea  ChimtEras 

coasts,  ami  it  is  liopid  that  in  due  time  it  may  once 
more  attain  to  its  former  abundaiue. 

In  concludinL;  this  notice  of  the  Tile-fish,  I  feel 
that  an  apology  is  due  to  him  for  classing  him  at  all 
under  the  heading  of  chim:eras,  from  which  category 
his  beauty  both  of  form  and  colour  slujuld  certainly 
keep  him  distinct.  The  same  feehng  ])reVLnts  me  from 
going  into  details  concerning  the  halibut,  v.irious  sorts 
of  flounders  and  soles,  and  gurnards  also,  all  of  whom 
are  found  in  very  deep  waters,  but  are  none  of  them 
chim;eras  in  any  sense.  It  seems  a  pity  that,  now 
the  narrow  seas  have  been  so  well  fished  for  soles  and 
flat-fish  generally  that  the  price  of  them  is  becoming 
prohibitive,  there  could  not  be  devised  some  means 
for  fishing  those  greater  depths,  in  which  it  seems 
fairly  certain  huge  supplies  of  them  are  to  be  found, 
apparently  awaiting  the  coming  of  usefulness  to  man- 
kind. 

From  the  foregoing  pages  many  very  queer  fish 
have  been  excluded  because  of  their  trivial  size.  For 
in  tiny  creatures  both  of  land  and  sea  we  are  accus- 
tomed to  see  strange  developments  of  form  and  colour, 
and  they  e.xcite  no  wonder.  If,  however,  we  could 
find  a  creature  as  large  as  a  horse  developed  into  the 
similitude  of,  say,  an  ant,  or  a  bull  into  a  beetle,  our 
wonder  would  be  almost  beyond  bounds.  For  this 
reason  I  have  not  mentioned  the  marvellous  genus 
of  fishes  in  the  profundities  of  ocean  who  carry  their 
own  installations  of  electric  light  as  it  were.  They 
are  truly  amazing,  yet  not  more  so  than  the  fire-fly 
or  the  glow-worm,  and  they  are  all  of  msignificant 
size,  say  from  four  to  six  inches  long.  There  is  just 
this  difikulty  though  about  dealing  with  them  ;  it 
may  very  veil  be  that  the  larger  ones  are  too  swift 
and  too  wary  to  be  taken  ii^  the  trawls  of  the  fish- 


i1 


Little   Freaks  of  Nature       1 63 

<  iinini~>i'>n  vessels.  They  may  grow  in  those  un- 
i.nowii  tlrpths  to  ;i  very  gri  it  si/e  f(;r  ;ill  we  know, 
hilt  we  U'Scr  see  them,  nor  (1m  -,  it  .ippear  th  it  we  are 
iver  likelv  to.  Unless  indeed  it  were  found  possible 
to  ii-e  .1  large  form  of  fish-trap,  a  wicker  or  wire  con- 
tnwiiice,  into  whit  I'  fnii  of  quite  laige  size  can  scjueeze 
tlitir  w  ly  after  tlie  bait  it  contains  but  cannot  get 
hai  k  again.  The  entrance  is  set  round  with  long, 
tlr\;hle,  sh.irp-pointed  wires  directed  inwards  and 
c<iinergiiig  to  a  very  small  space.  The  ;i>'ii,  however 
sluggi-h,  can  easily  s(picc/e  through,  but  il  he  attempt 
to  withdraw,  the  pcjints  of  the  wires  ehectually  prevent 
liiiii. 

One  small  species  of  fish  I  feel  must  not  be  neglec+c«!, 
iov  se\eral  reasons.  I  say  '  one  species '  although 
the  funny  creatures  have  amazingly  differing  titles. 
P.iit  th(^v  all  look  very  much  alike,  are  all  a  kind  of 
aiiu'lr  hsh,  having  their  mouths  apparently  cut  down- 
wanl  into  the  head  from  the  top  at  the  front,  and 
po--;  •-sing  a  long  spine  protruding  from  the  back  of 
the  neck,  with  a  tassel  or  a  bulb  depending  from  the 
end  of  it,  which  is  either  a  lure  for  prey  or  a  sensitive 
(Jig  111  to  warn  the  owner  when  buried  in  the  mud, 
it>  tav(nirite  place,  of  the  approach  of  a  victim.  The 
t\pe  is  quite  familiar  to  readers  of  good  Natural 
Histories. 

Tlie  special  characteristics  of  this  fish,  however, 
are  well  worth  noting.  First,  the  enormous  depths 
at  uhicli  it  lives,  a  specimen  having  been  brought  up 
in  the  '  Challenger '  trawl  from  a  d  pth  of  nearly 
liftceii  thousand  feet.  And  in  this  case,  as  Manculias 
UfdiiuscopHS  is  essentially  a  bottom  hsh,  there  could 
h.i.e  been  no  possibility  of  it  1ki\  ing  entered  the  trawl 
"W  its  way  down.     It  was  three  anil  a  quarter  inches 


,iJlU 


A   larger   specimen   of   a   similar   fish,   though 


■ 


164  Deep-Sea  Chim^eras 


m--* 


br.uuld  with  the  ciiittict  Corynolophus  Rcinhardtii, 
coiiK'S  froir  the  deeps  off  the  Greenland  coast,  but  is 
a  more  rt'spectable-loc^king  creature,  fourteen  inches 
long. 

Hut  Mi-lanoct-tHs  Joliusonii  is  really  an  object  of 
terror,  altliou,i;h  only  four  indies  in  length.  When 
closed,  its  lower  jaw  is  vertical  like  the  others,  but 
w!un  niien  it  droops  below  a  riglit  angle— tlie  whole 
front  (jf  the  fish  is,  a^:  it  were,  opened  out.  And  it  looks 
exactly  as  if  the  back  of  its  iiead  had  expanded  into 
a  belly.  But  that  useful  organ,  having  to  contain 
very  often  a  lidi  much  larger  than  its  owner,  is  a  loose 
sac  attached  by  a  cord,  which  floats  about  and  ap- 
parently allows  its  contents  to  escape  into  the  body 
as  they  are  needed  for  its  up-keep.  Of  course  its  colour 
is  a  uniform  black. 

Liocctiis  Murrayi  is  extremely  similar  to  the  fore- 
going, or  would  be  if  the  body,  apart  from  the  mouth, 
had  not  apparently  been  turned  round.  Briefly,  it 
looks  as  if  Mclanocctus  had  its  belly  on  its  back  and 
Liocdus   in   its  usual   position. 

These  few  selections  may  briefly  serve  to  indicate 
what  manner  of  monsters  abide  in  that  mysterious 
world  beneath  the  waves,  a  world  of  darkness  and 
uniform  cold,  but,  we  also  know,  a  world  teeming 
with  strange  life.  It  gives  only  just  a  subject  picked 
here  and  there  from  the  enormous  mass  of  matter 
available,  but  it  must  be  remembered  that  it  really 
is  to  that  matter  what  the  latter  is  to  the  creatures 
still  roaming  in  their  sea-solitudes  unknown  and,  save 
for  one  another,  unmolested. 


CHAPTER    XIV 


SEA-SERPENTS 

AVERY  simple  way  of  dealing  with  the  subiect  of 
this  chapter,  ana  one  entirely  in  accordance  witli 
my  own  feelings  upon  the  matter,  would  b(^  that 
said  to  "be  adopted  by  the  Irish  student  who  was  set 
to  write  an  essay  upon  snakes  in  Ireland,  and  did  so  m 
tlie  sentence,  '  There  are  no  snakes  in  Ireland.'  But 
wliatever  my  ideas  in  this  connexion  may  be,  I  find 
It  impossible  to  ignore  or  set  aside  contemptuously 
tlie  vast  amount  of  literature  upon  the  subject,  much 
of  it  doubtless  written  by  very  well-informed  and 
entirely  honest  persons,  who  were  only  anxious  to 
disseminate  the  truth  concerning  sea-serpents. 

It  is  hardly  possible  for  any  sensible  person  at  all 
acquainted  with  the  fauna  of  the  sea  and  literature 
generally  to  approach  the  subject  of  Sea-serpents 
with  an  open  mind.  It  is  like  the  matter  of  ghosts, 
one  that  is  mixed  up  so  much  with  pure  superstition, 
personal  bias,  human  weakness  of  mind  and  credulity, 
that  it  seems  impossible  to  get  a  reasonable  account 
at  all.  And  this,  setting  aside  entirely  the  intentionally 
mendacious  literature  on  the  subject,  stuff  written 
falsely  from  a  diseased  or  riotous  imagination  with  no 
ether  object  in  view  than  that  of  creating  a  sensation, 
not  seldom  with  the  full  knowledge  that  there  is  always 
an  immense  number  of   otherwise  sane  and  sensible 

165 


^^ 


L 


1 66 


Sea^Serpents 


persons,  who  really  believe  anything  they  read  in  print 
which  is  not  admittedly  fiction. 

As  an  instance  in  point  I  may  quote  an  experience 
of  my  own.  Some  years  a^o  I  wrote  a  little  yarn, 
which  w.is  publiNlied  in  tlie  Westminster  C  ,:cttc,  entitlij 
'  Up  a  Waterspout.'  As  I  had  no  intintion  of  gulliii,-j 
anybody,  I  purposely  wrote  in  a  ridicnloiislv  inflated 
style,  describing  my  experiences  wliile  being  sucked 
up  from  tlie  sea  surface  into  th(>  clouds  and  my  subse- 
quent sudden  descent.  It  never  even  occurred  to  me 
that  any  one  could  believe  the  story,  it  was  so  obviously 
absurd.  Yet  to  my  intense  ama/.ement,  when  it  was 
included  in  a  volume  of  sketches  I  afterwards  ])ublished, 
one  critic  gravely  discussed  it  as  if  it  were  true,  and 
descanted  upon  the  unicjue  advantages  of  such  an 
experience.  Now  the  critic  may  have  been  joking 
ponderously  and  with  '  deefeeculty,'  but  I  do  not  think 
he  was. 

This,  however,  only  by  way  of  introduction  to  a 
very  difficult  subject.  Difficult,  because  it  is  dis- 
tinctly unpl.^asant  to  realise,  as  one  must  do  who  takes 
up  the  Sea-serpent  question,  how  great  is  the  number 
of  people  who  will,  out  of  sheer  wantonness,  lie  and 
perjure  themselves  about  some  perfectly  immaterial 
matter  like  this.  Any  interest  possessed  by  the  Sea- 
serpent,  if  it  exists,  can  only  be  either  scientific  or 
romantic  ;  it  has  never  even  been  suggested  that  the 
creature  is  dangerous  or  commercially  valuable.  Yet 
an  enormous  mass  of  writing  can  be  collected,  written 
by  people  of  almost  every  European  nation,  and  especi- 
ally by  Americans,  whose  authors  have  either  admitted, 
after  the  sensation  caused  by  their  statements  has 
died  away,  that  they  were  lying  for  fun,  or  else  all 
trace  of  them  has  been  lost,  they  having  invented 
names  and  authorities  as  well  as  the  serpent. 


'Evidence'   of  Sea-Serpents      167 

Another  large  amount  of  printed  stuff  has  been 
contnlnited  bv  persons  urgently  in  need  of  something 
to  do    who  have  compiled  their  amazmg  stori 'S  from 
h,  us  ly      M^uiv  of  these  contributors  are  clergymen, 
and  it^s  no  exaggeration   to  say  that   their  stories, 
h  iviug  only  some  casual  remarks  of  a  careless  seafarer 
for  text,  surpass  in  wildness  of  elaboration  evc"   Ihe 
varus  invented  with  intent  to  deceive. 
■      Then  comes  a  much  smaller  quantity,  the  eviaence 
of  those  who  have  ^een  somdhins,  and  earnestly  desire 
to  record  what  they  have  seen  truthfully,  but  from 
inability  to  describe  accurately,  or  deticient  power  of 
observation,  or  imagination  heightened  by  alarm,  or 
ill  these  reasons  (and  more)  combined,  only  succeed 
in  misleading.     A  splendid  instance  of  thi^  is  given 
in  the  report  of  a  Sea-serpent  (?)  seen  off  Portland 
1  iuht   New  Zealand,  on  August  i,  1S91,  from  the  deck 
of^he  s  s.  '  Rotomahana.'     Peter  Nelson,  a  quarter- 
master  says  that  the  head  was  like  that  of  an  eel.     It 
rose  thirty  feet  out  of  water.     It  had  hns  about  ten 
feet  long,  situated  on  either  side  of  the  body  (which 
bulged  about  there)  twenty  feet  behind  the  snout.     It 
was  the  colour  of  an  eel  on  the  back,  but  the  belly  and 

fins  were  pure  white.  .    ,    ^  .-  ■ 

I  have  condensed  the  very  prolix  report,  but  tnis 
is  the  substance  of  it.  And  I  believe  that  Peter  Nelsoii 
wis  a  p.nfectly  honest  and  truthful  man  who  described 
IS  best  he  could  the  '  breachuig  '  or  uprising  half-way 
out  of  water  of  a  humpbacked  whale  {Mcsaptcm),  an 
exceedingly  common  sight  on  that  coast.  He  says 
indeed  that  it  was  nothing  like  a  whale,  but  it  his 
description  is  as  accurate  as  I  believe  it  is,  what  he 
saw  exactlv  represents  the  behaviour  and  appearance 
of  a  humpback  gambolling  on  the  sea-surface  as  usual. 
Yet  because  of  the  lack  of  previous  observation  on 


^5; 


i68 


Sea'Serpents 


the  part  of  himself  and  otlu-rs,  tliis  Sca-scrpcnt  story 
goes  round  the  world  and  is  puhlislu'd  in  many  news- 
papers. It  is  also  ust  truimphantly  by  Professor 
Oudemans,  Director  of  the  Ko\-al  Zoolo-n-al  Society 
at  The  Hague,  as  a  convincing  proof  of  the  correctness 
of  his  theory  of  Sea-serpents. 

There  lies  before  me  as  I  write  a  portly  volume  of 
six  hundred  pages,  with  many  illustrations,  compiled 
with  amazing  industry  and  perseverance  by  thi?;  learned 
gentleman,  a])parently  for  the  s(,le,and  to  him  sutlieient, 
purpose  of  buttressing  his  tlieory  as  to  the  nature  and 
character  of  the  Sea-serpent,  of  whf)se  existence,  by 
the  way,  he  has  no  doubt.     Only,  tlie  creature  he  has 
evolved   for   his   own    satisfaction    from    the   mass   of 
material  he  has  so  carefully  c(jllected  is  not  a  ser[ient 
at  all,  but  an  amazingly  develojied  mammal  of  the  sea 
tribe,  a  Pinniped,  to  which  he  boldly  assigns  a  length 
of  two  hundred  and  fifty  feet.     If  it  were  not  for  the 
many  instances  given  in  this  volume  of  the  ama/ing 
credulity   displayed   by   scientific    men    when   in    the 
presence    of    ^omc    extraordinarily    gift(>d    romancer 
{vide   the   Britisli   As.-^o.  iation   and   M.   Crien's  stories 
of   flying   wombats,   saw-lish   in   inland   lakes,  turtle- 
riding,    etc.),    I    should    feel    disposed    to    be    quite 
contemptuous   about    Dr.    Oudemans'    'conclusions.' 
But  apart  from  his  scientific  credulity,  he  displays  a 
really  touching  anxiety  to  extract  from  the  mountain 
of  lies,  absurdities,  and  superstitions  he  has  collected 
with  so  much  labour,  a  sufficient  number  of  grains  of 
truth  for  the  putting  to-ether  of  his  pet  sea  monster. 
As  to  his  rejection  oi  other  scientific  theories  of  the 
Sea-serpent,    I   make   no  account    of  that.     He   only 
deals  with  rival  theorists  after  his  kind.     It  seems  to 
be  ratlii'r  a  feature  with  scientific  men  of  a  certain 
class  to  build  a  tluory  first,  then  mould  the  evidence 


Origin  of  Sea-Serpent  Stories      1 69 

or  suppress  it  to  fit  the  theory,  and  ignore  utterly  any 
other  expUmation  but  their  own. 

The  hst  of  what  Dr.  Oudemans  calls  'would-be 
Sea-serpents '  is  a  fairly  large  and  comprehensive  one. 
^rils,  cuttlefish,  sharks,  porpoises,  fossils  [Zeuglodon 
and   Basilaurus),   and   even  albacore ;     the    physalis, 
1  rorqual,   and   a  supposed  marine   plesiosaurus   arc 
among   the  living  (?)  creatures,   while   sea-weed   and 
floating  tree-trunks  are  among  the  inanimate  simu- 
lators of  the  great  snake.     But  he  evidently  does  not 
nhsh  the  idea  that  any  of  his  contributors  have  called 
upon  their  imagination  to  stimulate  pen  and  pencil, 
except  where  confession  of  detection  has  exposed  the 
fraud.     This  may  seem  harsh,  but  what  else  can  be 
said  of  a  scientific  zoologist  of  the  present  day,  who 
deliberately    quotes    Olaus    Magnus,    Archbishop    of 
Upsala,   and    Pontoppidan,   Bishop    of    Bergen-two 
clerics  remarkable  for  nothing  greater  than  their  most 
amazing  credulity  and  riotous  imagination  ?     A  quo- 
tation from  our  author  must  be  given  as  showing  the 
position  he  takes  up  with  regard  to  the  latter  of  these 
two  ancient  fictionists.  . 

'We   see    the    Bishop   weighing   and   considering 
whatever   he   heard,    and   not   accepting   everything 
for  truth.     We  think  that  Pontoppidan  is  right  in 
giving  no  credit  to  the  narrative  that  the  Sea-serpents 
made  themselves  guilty  of  sinking  ships  and  eating 
men.  .  .  .  Pontoppidan  further  tells  us  that  the  Sea- 
serpent  sometimes  encloses  ships  by  laying  itself  round 
them  in  a  circle,  that  the  fishermen  then  row  over  its 
body  there  where  a  coil  is  visible,  for  when  they  reach 
tlie  coil  it  sinks,  while  the  invisible  parts  rise.     Further, 
that  the  Serpent  swims  with  an  incredible  velocity, 
and  that  the  fishermen,  who  are  much  afraid  of  it, 
when  seeing  that  it  follows  them,  throw  any  object. 


'-0 


*-■  ^ 


170 


Sea'Serpents 


fr 


)r 


instance  a  sronp,  at  it,  when  tl 


le 


plunj^'i's   intc    the   deep.     But   moe^t    lisluTme 


animal  generally 


the    habit    of    tak 


n  are  in 


S 


It 


uig    castureum    wilh    them,    for    tl 
\bide  the  smell  of  it.   .       '       AnH 


le 


cannot 

his  tenth  paragraph,  trying  to  answer  the  question 
why  tliose  larger  S(  rpmts  only  freijuent  the  northern 
seas,  he  says  :  '  To  this  question  I  answer  tiiat  tlie 
Creator  of  all  beings  disposes  of  tlie  dwellings  of  His 
creatures  in  different  places  by  His  wise  intentions, 
which  are  not  known  to  us.  Why  won't  the  reindei-r 
thri\-e  anywhere  but  in  the  high  and  cold  mountains  ? 
Why  do  the  whales  frequent  only  the  North  Pole  ?  (!!) 
Why  are  India  and  Egypt  almost  the  only  countries 
where  men  have  to  fear  crocodiles  ?  No  doubt  be- 
cause it  pleases  the  wise  Creator  !  '  Here  Pontoppidan 
takes  leave  of  the  Sea-serpent,  and  begins  to  treat  of 
the  large  snakes  mentioned  by  Plinius  and  other 
ancient  authors,  and  we  too  will  take  leave  of  our 
honest  and  trustworthy  bishop,  who  has  zo  often  been 
laughed  at  for  what  he  relates  in  his  chapter  on  mon- 
sters. And  yet  two  of  his  monsters,  the  mermaid 
and  the  kraken,  being  unmasked,  why  cannot  his  third 
be  accounted  for  ? 

It  should  not  be  forgotten  that  the  date  of  this 
deliglitful  book  is  1S92  !  The  author  quotes,  with 
evident  approval,  Olaus  Magnus  writing  in  1555— 

'  They  who,  either  to  trade,  or  to  hsh,  sail  along 
the  shores  of  Norway,  relate  with  concurring  evidence 
a  truly  admirable  story,  namely,  that  a  very  large 
Serpent  of  a  length  of  upwards  of  two  hundred  feet, 
and  twenty  feet  in  diameti  r,  lives  in  rocks  and  holes 
near  the  shore  of  P.ergen  ;  it  comes  out  of  its  caverns 
onl\'  on  summer  niglits  and  in  line  weather  to  devour 
calves,  lambs,  and  liogs,  or  goes  into  the  sea  to  eat 
cuttles,  lobsters,  and  all  kinds  of  sea-crabs.     It  has 


I 


Superstition  and  Sea^Serpents      171 

a  luvv  of  hairs  of  two  feet  in  length  han-in-  from  the 
neck,  sharp  scales  of  a  dark  colour,  and  brilhant  flaming 
Jvcs.'    It  attacks  boats  and  snatches  away  the  men, 
by  raising  itself  high  out  of  water,  and  devours  them  ; 
aiul  commonly  this  does  not  hapi)en  without  a  terrible 
event  in  the  kingdom,  without  a  change  being  at  hand, 
.Mther  that  the  princes  will  die  or  will  be  banished,  or 
that  a  war  will  soon  break  out.'     The  only  criticism 
(if   this   ama/ing   yarn   which   the    Professor   permits 
l„„i^elf  is— 'We  consider  its  devouring  hogs,  limbs, 
and  calves,  and  its  appearance  on  summer  nights  on 
1.1  nd  to  take  its  prey,  to  be  a  fable.     The  citing  of 
squids,  cuttles,  crabs,  and  lobsters  may  be  a  hction  or 
it  may  have  been  truly  witnessed,  the  animal  chewing 
them  with  its  head  a!jo\e  water,  as  seals  and  sea-lions 
d(^  (!!).     The  story  of  snatcliing  a  man  away  from  the 
ships  is  evidently  confounded  with  another  tale.  .  .  . 
It  of  course  refers  to  gigantic  calamaries  which  occa- 
sionally attack   boats    and  snatch  away  one  of    the 
crew.     Its  being  covered  with  scales  must  be  hctitious 
too,  for  they  who  saw  a  Sea-serpent  at  a  short  distance 
are' unanimous  in  stating  that  it  had  no  scales,  but  a 
smooth  skin.'     A  fine  example  of  the  gnat  and  camel 
parable,  surely. 

The  list  of  accounts  of  the  seeing  of  the  Sea-serpent 
fills  nine  pages  and  a  half  of  our  author's  book,  and 
date  from  1555  to  1888.  Apparently  no  yarn,  how- 
ever wildly  absurd,  is  excluded  or  refused  rank  as 
evidence,  unless  it  has  been  exposed  as  an  indubitable 
fraud.  Even  then  Dr.  Oudemans  cannot  help  adopting 
a  regretful  tone,  as  if  he  only  wished  that  the  story 
was  true,  or  that  it  had  not  been  discovered  to  be  false, 
so  that  he  might  liave  the  luxury  of  believing  it.  But 
of  all  the  amazing  stories  collected  by  the  learned 
Doctor,  none  attain  such  a  magnitude  as  the  following. 


' 

^ 

Ui 

...;* 

7Z 

'  .' 

S> 

> 

ck. 

■* 

'*4 

*     t 

W^ 

...   - 

v> 

■t: 

"•i\ 

.>2 

172 


Sea^Serpents 


In  1S45  Dr.  Albert  C.  Koch  exhibited  a  lar^c 
skeleton  of  a  fossil  animal  under  the  name  of  Hydrarchos 
Sillimanni,  the  latter  half  of  the  po-  entous  name  being 
in  honour  of  the  learned  editcjr  of  T/..^  American  Journal 
of  Science  and  Arts,  Professor  Benjamin  Silliman,  well 
known  for  his  affectionate  regard  for  the  Sea-serpent. 
The  remains  consisted  of  a  head  and  vertebral  column, 
measuring  in  all  one  hundred  and  tourteen  feet,  of  a 
few  ribs  attached  to  the  thoracic  portion  of  the  spine, 
and  some  parts  of  supposed  paddles.  Of  course  the 
scientific  journals  took  up  the  discussion  of  this  won- 
derful discovery  with  avidity,  and  a  few  months  after- 
wards Professor  Wyman,  in  The  Proceedings  of  the 
Boston  Society  of  Natural  History,  had  the  courage  and 
skill  to  point  out  that  '  these  remains  never  belonged 
to  one  and  the  same  individual,  and  that  the  anatomical 
character  of  the  teeth  indicates  that  they  are  not  those 
of  a  reptile,  but  of  a  warm-blooded  mammal.'  In  the 
next  month's  Proceedings  of  the  same  Society,  Professor 
Rogers  points  out  that,  according  to  the  form  and 
structure  of  some  loose  bones,  the  skeleton  must  be 
of  at  least  two  individuals  of  Basilaurus,  a  fossil 
monster  allied  to  the  seals  and  whales,  which  Professor 
Owen  termed  Zeuglodon.  In  the  next  month's  issue 
Dr.  Koch  informs  the  public  that  the  bones  had  been 
found  together  and  were  arranged  in  the  precise  order 
in  which  they  were  discovered.  But  a  Dr.  Lister  wrote 
to  say  that  he  knew  that  Dr.  Koch  had  dug  up  the  bones 
in  different  places  in  Alabama. 

However,  the  yarn  was  not  killed,  hardly  scotched, 
and  the  '  fossil  Sea-serpent  '  still  yielded  a  plentiful 
harvest  of  dollars.  And  in  The  Illustrated  London  News 
of  October  28,  1848,  Professor  Silliman  ventures  to 
state,  in  the  hope  apparently  that  the  previous  con- 
tradictions would  be  forgotten, '  that  the  spinal  column 


Astui^  American  'Professor'      173 


Inlong; 


to    th 


;amc    i 


ndividiial,    tluit    tlu-    skeleton 


or 


f(,>sil 


duiers,  most  essentuilly,  from  any  existiuf 
.eriH-nt,  although  it  may  countmanco  the  popular 
(  u'd  I  believe  well-founded)  impress.. n  of  the  existence 
in  our  seas  of  huge  animals,  to  winch  the  name  of 
Sea-set  pent  has  been  attached.' 

Now  the  facts  of  this  case  undoubtedly  were  proved 

to  be  as  follows  : —  .    , 

Dr    Koch  was  a  collector  of  fossils,  but  entirely 
ui^crupulous  in  the  use  he  made  of  them.     He  was 
a  business  man   first,   and   a  scientist   afterwards   (a 
Ion-  way).     Not  satisfied  with  the  real  scientific  value 
and  interest  of  the  wonderful  collection  of  Amenc^m 
fo.>ils  he  really  possessed,  he,  seeing  what  a  valuable 
show    it    would    make,    deliberately    faked    the    said 
serpent  out  of  bones  of  several  Zeuglodon    made  a 
iKad  and  claws  to  suit,  and  then  having  hitched  his 
{laud  to  Silliman,  put  it  on  public  exhibition.     And 
no  doubt  his  enterprise  was  considered  to  be  a  real 
smart  one,  an  evident  token  of  high  business  capacity, 
quite  unusual  in  a  scientific  professor. 

Sober  investigators,  like  Dr.  Andrew  Wilson,  Mr. 
Lee  and  Mr.  Gosse,  all  being  gifted  with  sound  common- 
sense,  as  well  as  having  high  scientific  attainments, 
do  not  waste  time  over  the  many  obvious  absurduies 
and    palpable    fabrications    which    are    so    plentifully 
quoted  in  Dr.  Oudemans'  book.     But  they  have  given 
much  time  and  careful  investigation  to  such  stories 
as  bore  the  stamp  of  truth,  in  so  far  that  it  was  manifest 
that   the   observers   had   seen   something   out   of   the 
common,  but  had  quite  naturally  in  their  excitement 
gifted  the  vision  with  some  extraordinary  attributes 
which  it  never  really  possessed.  •     ^    .  *  i^ 

Of  these  stories  the  most  interesting  is  that  told 
bv  the  captain  and  crew  of  the  '  Pauline.'     captain 


•  '^. 


174 


Sea'Serpents 


Drevar  stated  that,  when  in  lat.  13°  S.,  lont^.  35°  W., 
tliey  observed  three  \-ery  hirge  sperm  whales  (I  may 
here  note,  in  passing,  that  I  have  never  yet  met  witli 
a  seaman  other  than  a  whaleman  who  knew  a  sperm 
whale  when  he  saw  it,  or  could  di-tinquish  between 
any  one  whale  and  another  of  a  dilterent  species), 
and  one  of  them  was  gripped  round  the  body  with  two 
turns,  by  what  appeared  to  be  a  hu-;e  serpent.  Itj 
l)a(-k  was  of  a  darkish  brown,  and  its  belly  white, 
with  an  immen-^e  head  and  mouth,  the  latter  always 
open  ;  the  head  and  tail  had  a  length  beyond  tlie 
eoils  of  about  thirty  fe(;t  ;  its  girth  was  about  eight 
or  nine  feet.  IMng  its  extremities  as  levers,  the  serpent 
whirled  its  \ictim  round  and  round  for  about  fifteen 
minutes,  and  then  suddenly  dragged  the  whale  down 
to  the  bottom,  head  lirst.  The  other  two  whales, 
after  attempting  to  release  their  companion,  swam 
away  upon  its  descent,  exhibiting  signs  of  the  greatest 
terror. 

On  July  13  this  or  another  sea-serpent  was  again 
seen,  about  two  hundred  yards  off  the  stern  of  the 
vessel,  shooting  itself  along  the  surface,  forty  feet 
of  its  body  being  out  of  the  water  at  a  time.  Again 
on  the  same  day  it  was  seen  once  more  with  its  body 
standing  quite  perpendicularly  out  of  the  water  to  a 
height  of  sixty  feet.  This  time  it  seemed  determined 
to  attack  the  vessel,  and  the  crew  and  olacers  armed 
themselves  with  axes  for  self-defence.  In  another 
version  of  the  same  story  he,  the  captain,  speaks  of 
the  serpent  '  looking  angrily  '  at  the  ship. 

Now,  eight  or  nine  years  ago  I  wrote  a  paper  for 
Nature  on  '  the  Sperm  Whale  and  its  Food,'  in  the 
course  of  which  I  described  a  spectacle  I  witnessed 
of  a  huge  cachalot  devouring  a  very  large  cuttle-hsh 
or  squid  upon  the  sea-surface  in  the  Straits  of  Malacca. 


The   'Pauline'   Sea-Serpent      1 75 


Dr.  Amlivw  \\\hnn  upon  reading  this  storv  immcdi- 
afly  rememl)crrcl  tho  y  nn  of  tlio  captain  of  the 
•  raulinc,'  and  very  naturally,  and  I  think  in(>vitably, 
knowing  the  man.'r.mK;  to  the  conclusion  that  it  was 
lM>cd  upon  a  similar  >if;lit.  The  Do.tor  wrote  to  me 
a-king  me  for  further  details,  which  I  gladly  supi^lied, 
and  mibodied  his  retlections  in  his  Science  Jottings' 
fohnnn  in   the  next  issue  of   The  Illustrated  London 

.V('"i'S. 

Up   to   a   certain   point  everything    that   Cap*   m 
Drevar  states,  and  swears  to,  is  easily  explainable,  on 
the  hvpothesis  that  he  saw  a  sperm  whale  devouring 
a    huge    calamary.     But     then    the    embellishments 
arrive,  several  of  them  not  to  be  ascribed  to  exaggera- 
tion through  nervous  excitement,  but  obviously  put 
in  to   round   off   and   complete   a   good   story.     For 
instance,  what  were  the  signs  of  greatest   terror  ex- 
hibited   by    the    two    attendant    whales  ?     Certainly 
no  whaleman  could  tell.     How  could  the  serpent,  even 
a-Miming  it  to  lie,  as  the  captain  does,  one  hundred 
or  one  hundred  and  seventy  feet  long,  raise  its  body 
1  .rpendicularly  out  of  the  water  to  a  height  of  sixty 
fe.>t  ?     It  was  such  a  pity  to  spoil  a  good  story^  by 
trying  to  improve  it  in  such  a  foolish  way,  that  even 
Dr.  Oudemans  feels  compelled  to  take  33^  per  cent. 
off  the  sixty  feet. 

But  before  leaving  Captain  Drevar  another  example 
of  his  powers  must  be  given  :  '  The  body  (of  the  whale) 
disappeared  from  our  vaew,  going  down  head  foremost 
to  the  bottom,  where  no  doubt  it  was  gorged  at  the 
-.rpent's  leisure  ;  and  that  mon^-ter  of  monsters  may 
l;:ive  been  manv  months  in  a  state  of  coma,  digesting 
the  huge  moutiifuh'  Oh,  Captain  Drevar  !  A  huge 
mouthful  indeed  for  a  serpent  eight  or  nine  feet  m 
girth  to  gorge  a  wh;ile  thirty  or  forty  ;    for  a  snake 


ij 


35 

i3 


176 


Sea'Serpents 


of,  say,  at  the  outside,  twt  nty  tons  in  weight,  to  swallow 
a  morsel  of  eighty  or  one  luindred  tons  !  Indeed  we 
might  well  expect  him  to  lie  many  months  in  a  state 
of  coma.  In  truth,  Olaus  Magnus  or  Pontoppid.m 
nc\er  bettered  this  yarn,  thougli  they  were  far  from 
being  amateurs  at  the  task.     And  it  was  sworn  to. 

There  are  also  the  stories  of  the  ministers  who  saw 
the  Sea-serpent  in  the  Sound  of  Mull  and  estimated 
its  length  at  sixty  feet.  They  did  not  expect  to  b( 
believed,  and  said  so,  only  they  felt  that  any  explana- 
tion of  what  they  saw  except  that  it  was  a  great  Sea- 
snake  was  impossible  to  accept.  But  the  most  diihcuh 
story  of  all  to  account  for  is  that  told  by  Captain 
McQuhae  of  H.M.S.  '  Dadalus,'  and  his  officers,  which 
in  1848  created  so  great  a  sensation  in  England.  Very 
brietly,  the  story  is  that,  in  lat.  24°  44'  S.,  and  long.  9' 
22'  E.,  an  enormous  serpent  was  seen,  its  head  and 
shoulders  some  four  feet  out  of  water,  and  quite 
sixty  feet  of  its  body  on  the  surface.  It  passed  rapidly 
without  any  undulatory  movement,  so  close  to  the 
ship  that  the  gallant  captain  says  he  could  have  dis- 
tinguished a  man's  features  at  the  distance.  It  had 
no  tins,  but  something  like  seaweed  washed  about  its 
back. 

Now  it  is  not  fair  to  suppose  that  the  captain 
and  his  officers  stated  anything  that  they  did  not 
believe  to  be  true,  yet  no  less  an  authority  than 
Professor  Owen  in  a  long  letter  to  The  Times  of  Novem- 
ber II,  1848,  points  out  that  the  captain's  observations 
and  his  conclusions  do  not  fit  at  all,  finally  giving 
it  as  his  (t^c  Professor's)  opinion  that  the  thing  seen 
was  a  great  seal  or  sea  elephant  ;  much  to  the  captain's 
annoyance,  who  rej)lies  very  warmly  to  the  great 
pala-'ontologist's  letter.  Another  authority  gives  it 
as  his  opinion  that  the  creature  was  a  huge  basking 


(iIIi'-ImH 


t!i.' 


Incredulity   of  High  Authorities    1 77 

.  ,k  su.h  as  anotluT  vvcU-authonticatcd  scrivnt 
■',  nui.  >l  at  Stron^a  and  ^ivcn  as  sixty  to  ciglity  foot 
l,',n"  was  proved  to  bo  and  rrdnvcd  in  length  by  about 
"  For  myself,   I   believe  that   the   officers   of 

'  D.idalus;  b'eiii-.  like  most  sailors,  very  careless 
,.,-1  <  isu.il  observer^  nf  marine  fauna,  did  see  a  huse 
'.ulphur-bottom  whal."  [lUdaenoptcra  sul,^hnrcus),  nvIuHi 
i,  clrnder  has  a  c.mix.ratively  sm.dl  head,  attams 
,'  maxinuun  len-th  of  one  hundred  and  hfty  feet, 
iiul  a  -peed  of  sixteen  knots. 

Hut  anv  attempt  to  -how  that  the  tellers  of  some 
s,. ,..,  rpent  stories  were  truthful  and  honest,  accordmg 
to  thtir  li'dits,  only  seems  to  arouse  animosity  among 
tho^e  curious  savants  who  appear  to  think  lif-  would 
not  be  worth  living  without  brlief  in  a  gigantic  snake^ 
Thev   will    not   hear   of   any   natural   explanation   ot 
the 'strange    sights    reported    by    veracious    seamen. 
ind   entirely   ignore   Professor   Owen's   calm   dictum, 
tint  had  Sea-serpents  of  the  dimensions  so  often  .aven 
existed,    some    remains   must    have    been   found,    for 
Mich  rreatures  would  be  often  on  the  surface  to  breathe 
md  could  n.jt  fail  to  have  deposited  relics  of  themselves 
on  some  shore  or  other.     Only  one  joint  of  a  vertebra 
would  have  been  sufhcient..  says  the  Professor,  to  have 
establi-hed    the    Sea-serpent's    identity   scientifically. 
I'.ut  ih^^  illuminating  fragment  has  never  been  forth- 

c(jming.  „       ,    7        •  4. 

It  has  been  assumed  that  the  Zcuglodon  is  not 
rxtinet,  although  a  recent  specimen  has  nev'er  been 
found,  and  the  fossils  arc  found  in  the  tertiary  deposits. 
It  H  also  assumed  that  the  creature  may  be  a  Plcsio- 
..vtrus,  which  has  survived  the  lapse  of  ages  in  that 
nu-terious  realm,  the  depths  of  th.e  sea.  But  certainly 
none  of  the  Sea-serpent  stories,  honestly  told,  are 
iu.us<-ei.tible  of  feasible  logical  cxpl.-.nation  by  those 

12 


Co 


.  -   o 


178 


Sea^Serpents 


arqii.iinted  with  our  l.irger  sea  mammals  and  othor 
fauna  not  u^u.illy  seen. 

Are  there  tlien  no  Sea-serpents  ?  Certainly  there 
are,  very  man_\-,  and  exceedingly  dangerous  (.piiidians 
they  are,  being  highly  poisonous.  The  largest  of  tht  in 
is  almost  as  thick  as  a  man's  leg,  and  from  eiglit  to 
ten  feet  long.  Thev  abound  on  the  Itulir.n  coasts, 
and  in  the  Eastern  .\r(liipel.iL,'()  I  have  often  seen  them 
pursuing  their  devious  wav  along  the  calm  surface. 
Tiiey  all  have  a  tlattenefl  end  to  tlieir  tail,  instead  of 
its  coming  to  a  point,  as  does  that  of  all  the  land  snakes. 
I  have  heard,  on  good  authority,  they  are  responsible 
for  the  de.it!  s  o  many  Lascars  in  the  country  vessels 
of  India,  chmbuig  up  the  coir  hawsers  with  which 
the  ves>els  are  anchored,  through  the  hawse-pipes 
and  biting  the  slee])iiig  men. 

But  these  are  not  the  Sea-serpents  whose  character- 
istics, as  seen  by  lattiT-day  chroniclers,  all  bear  the 
stamp  of  Olaus  .M.igiuis  or  Pontoppidan.  The 
enormous  length,  serpentine  shtpe,  mane  ot  hair, 
side  paddles,  etc.,  all  bespeak  a  common  origin.  Now 
it  would  ill  become  any  one,  least  of  all  those  knowing 
something  of  tlie  fear-ome  creatures  that  have  of  late 
years  been  found  to  inh.dnt  the  great  depths  of  the  sea, 
to  say  that  we  shall  never  hnd  or  see  any  terrific  mon- 
ster uphea\  ed  from  the  ocean  lloor.  Only,  if  such  there 
be,  it  will  not  be  a  serpent,  or  a  mammal  such  as 
Professor  Oudemans  believes  in,  a  sort  of  Zciiglodon 
two  hundred  and  fifty  feet  long.  Be-^ause  these 
creatures  are  essentially  of  the  surface,  they  cannot 
even  descend  to  any  great  depth,  in  consequence, 
first,  of  the  increasing  pressure  upon  their  bodies, 
and  next,  of  their  need  of  air  breathed  direct  from 
the  atmosphere. 

I  firmly  believe  myself  that  cuttle-fish  lurk  in  the 


Sea- Serpents  and  Religion      1 79 


jld 


ify 


<1  irklin-  r;ivos  of  ocean,  a  sight  of  which  woul 
any  Soa-sfrpont  y.irn,  however  Munchiusi^nhk'^,  and 
I  slinulfl  not  hkr  to  question  the  existence  of  eno.jnous 
mdi\  idu.ils  of  Rq^alccus  or  oar-fish,  of  which  Dr.  Goode 
savs  tlKit  '  it  scvnis  (luite  safe  to  assign  to  this  group 
''if  til.'  so-calUnl  S.M-scrponts  which  have  been  described 
as  swimming  rapidly  m-ar  the  surface,  with  a  hors.'-hke 
hond  raised  above  tlie  water,  surmounted  by  a  mane- 
likr  crest  of  red  or  brown.'  But  from  a  Rcsalccus 
,,f  twenty  feet  lon,^  to  a  Sea-serpent  capabl(>  of  carrymg 
his  liead"  sixty  feet  out  of  water  is  so  long  a  step  that 
I  do  not  think  we  shall  ever  take  it. 

The  great  difficulty  about  our  acceptance  of  Sea- 
serpent    stories    to-day    is    the    aroma    of    medi:eval 
sui^erstition  which  surrounds  them.     Wo  cann.jt  help 
remembering  that  there  belongs,  as  of  right,  to  all  Sea- 
Mipent  stories  of  the  Olaus  Magnus  order,  a  relation- 
^hiji  to  serpent  worship,  to  the  hideous  old  mythologies 
of  the  past,  bavin,?,  if  not  their  origin,  at  least  their 
,  irlv  history  enveloped  in  a  mist  of  blood  and  human 
aL'..nies.     We  mav  interest  ourselves  in  serpent  lore 
enimeeted  with  religion  as  much  as  we  will,  and  find 
it  terribly  interesting,  if  only  from  the  fact  that  almost 
ill  early  religions  have  some  trace  of  it.     That  in  the 
,  ,,M>  of  peoples  wh..  knew  the  sea  the  fabled  Sea-serpent 
hoiild  become  of  vast  and  awful  size  and  aspect,  was 
perhaps  only  natural,  since  the  connexion  of  it  with 
the    sea,    itself    a    place    of    superhuman    dread    and 
invsterv',  became  perhaps  inevitable.     The   avatar  of 
the   \\<h   from    the    Malh'Jiirata   of    the   Hindus   is   a 
(  av(>  in  point,  ela])orated  with  all  the  fulness  of  gro- 
tr- que   detail  that  these  ancient   people   love,  as  well 
,.  a  boundless   exaggeration.      The    puny   efforts   of 
-Mr  r.imancers  must  recede  into  obscurity  before  the 
tale   of    a    Sea-serpent    a   million  leagues    long,   and 


i> 


» 


i8o 


Sea^Serpents 


with  a  ?tui)cndous  horn  reaching  from  its  forehead  to 
the  clouds. 

Tlicrc  is  another  thing  wliich  does  not  seem  to 
strike  btlicvers  in  Sea-serpent  stories,  such  as  the 
learned  Professor  from  wliom  I  liave  quotc-d  so  largely. 
And  that  is,  that  of  the  Sea-serpent  so  often  described, 
which  I  must  call,  for  want  of  a  better  term,  the  Olaus 
Magnus,  or  conventional  Sea-serpent,  no  trace  has 
ever  been  supplied  to  the  examination  of  naturalists. 
Certain  remains  have  been  found,  as,  for  instance, 
those  of  the  /Vninial  of  Stronsa  in  Orkne}',  about  which 
so  furious  a  controversy  raged  nearly  a  century  ago. 
It  was  discovered  in  Octol)er  1808,  on  the  rocks  in 
Rothiesliolm  Bay  ;  its  measurement  in  length  was 
solemnly  sworn  to  by  three  witnesses  as  having  been 
proved  by  thenisel\es  at  hfty-five  feet,  and  anatomical 
details  were  given  at  great  length  to  prove  that  it  was 
a  ver'*\ble  Sea-seri)ent. 

Mr.  Everard  Home,  then  the  greatest  living  osteolo- 
gical  authority,  went  to  Orkney  at  once  and  e.xamincd 
the  remains  in  tlie  interest  of  science.  His  report 
was  clear  and  distinct  enough  to  satisfy  the  most 
exact  seeker  after  trutii,  and  considering  the  status 
of  the  gentleman  making  it,  who  could  have  no  other 
interest  in  the  matter  than  that  of  arriving  at  the  facts, 
it  should  ha\e  settled  the  controversy.  He  gave  his 
evidence  unhesitatingly  that  it  was  a  Scjucilus  maxinius, 
or  great  basking  shark,  whidi  did  not  exceed  thirty-hve 
feet  in  length,  and  present'^d  no  difiiculty  even  in  an 
advanced  stage  of  decomposition  in  the  determination 
of  its  character. 

After  sufticient  time  had  elapsed  the  whole  question, 
which  had  been  thonrht  to  be  finally  settled,  was 
again  raised.  Mr.  l'"".veiMid  Home's  scientific  testimony 
was  throwii  overboard,  aiul  the  evidence  of  the  illiterai^ 


'The'  Sea^Serpent  Non-Existent   iSi 

1^.  rrmen  who  had  measured  the  body  with  a  one-font 
rule  and  had  made  all  manner  of  wild  statements 
ibuit  it  having  six  le'gs,  both  ends  alike,  etc.,  etc., 
WIS  reinstated,  and  gravely  diseussed  de  novo  by 
quasi-scientific    gentlemen    who    should    have   known 

better. 

In  conclusion,  although  it  is  not  necessary  to  give 
a  list  of  all  the  various  appearances  which  have  simu- 
Lited  the  Sea-serpert  for  excited  observers,  it  may  be 
stated  with  the  utmost  plainness  that  none  of  the 
reports  of  Sea-serpents  made  yet  have  been  such  as 
would  stand  a  cross-examination  without  revealing 
their  true  explanation  or  their  true  origin  as  fiction 
pure  and  simple.  And  this  may  be  truly  said,  without 
in  the  least  denying  that  the  civilised  world  may  one 
day  be  startled  by  the  appearance  of  some  vast  and 
hitherto  unknown  monster  from  the  depths  of  the 
ocean. 


'i', 


CHAPTER    XV 


THE    ALBACORE 

THE  subject  of  the  present  chapter  is  a  very  king  of 
fish.     Without  controversy,  he  is  the  liead  of  the 
vast  mackerel   family,  the  ScomJiridac,  of  whicli 
our  well-beloved  mackerel  is  pcnhaps  the  best-known 
exponent  in  tl  -^  whole  world.     But,  perhajis,  it  would 
be  better,  sc    ng  how  varied  are  the  Albacore's  ad- 
ventures, how  vast   is  his  ran^e  of  habitat,  and  how 
different  are  the  names  bv  which  he  is  known  in  vari- 
ous parts  of  the  world,  to  let  him  tell  his  own  story, 
after  a  verv  brief  de-^cription  of  lus  majesty's  person. 
First,  then,  imaiiine  if  you  can,  a   mackerel  wlin. 
by  some  extraordinary  process  of  development,   has 
attained  a  length  of  say  six  to  eight  feet.     But,  in 
doing  so,  he  has  not  retained  that  slender  elegance  of 
outline  characteristic  of  the  common  mackerel  ;  he  has 
put  on  a  disproportionate  girth,  so  that  given  a  lengtli 
of  seven  feet  he  will  often  be  five  feet  in  circumference. 
In  colour  he  is  a  steely  blue  with  lighter  shadings,  until 
on  part  of  the  belly  the  colour  is  almost  that  of  burnished 
silver.     His  hns,  which  are  almost  exactly  the  same 
shape  as  in  the  common  mackerel,  but  proportionately 
larger,  are  golden  in  hue,  and  glitter  in  th«  sunshine 
when  he  is  near  tlie  surface  with  an  almost  intolerable 
brilliancy  to   the  eye.     On   both   sides  of  the  body, 
commencing  at  the  pectoral  hns  and  about  midway 
between  back  and  belly,  is  a  wavy  line,  almost  black 

i8a 


The  King  Mackerel  I  S3 

for  the  anterior  third  of  the  body,  then  gradually  deve- 
l„,„n.  into  a  scries  of  conical  horny  protuberances, 
.^s  if'tlie  fish  were  developing  an  armour-plating  ike 
'the  sturgeon.  All  mackerel  possess  this  curious  line 
of  scalv  excrescences,  and  all  mackerel,  although  not 
ab^.^lutelv  without  scales,  have  very  few  of  them,  and 
what  thev  have  are  covered  with  a  fine  tough,  and 
tr  m-parent  skin.  Most  of  the  scales  arc  plated  around 
the  shoulders  of  the  lish,  where,   too.   the  hues  are 

^"'ihe  head  is  of  an  almost  ideal  shape  for  a  fish,  of 
perfect  curves,  and  with  a  clean-cut,  tightly  closing 
mouth,   whose   bony   jaws,   apart   from   the   rows   of 
needle-sharp  teeth,  are  quite   as  effective  in  dealing 
with  prey  as  the  snap  of  a  pair  of  tailor  s  shears  would 
be    operated  with  the  same  force  that  this  vigorous 
fisii   can    exert.     The    eyes   are    two    splendid    orbs, 
averaging  two  inches  in  diameter,  and  so  set  in  the 
head  that  they  give  an  almost  perfect  range  of  vision 
being  also  slightly  prominent  and  entirely  unshaded 
by  lids,  brows,  or  membrane.     Their  colour  I  am  not 
quite  sure  of,  but  to  the  best  of  my  recollection  it  is  an 
intensely  dark  blue  for  the  pupil,  with  a  surrounding 

rim  of  gold.  ,  .    , 

The  food  of  the  Albacore  is  living  fish  of  any  kind, 
net   too  large   for  his   devouring,   but   is   principal  y 
e  .mposcd  of  the  leaping  squid  {LoUiio)  and  flymg-fish 
It  is  in  pursuit  of  these  latter  that  he  exhibits  that 
a'uazing  agility  for  which  he  and  the  corypiiaena  arc 
famous,  an  agility  almost  incredible  to  witness.     I  am 
quite  unable  to  assess  the  rate  at  which  an  Albacore 
ran  travel,  but  I  should  certainly  say  that  when   1 
have  seen  him  darting  along  just  beneath  the  surface 
uf    the   sea,   following    a   flying-fish   cleaving   tlie  an 
overhead  at  top  speed,  that  it  has  not  been  le.s  than 


CJ 


^ 

<:o 

cc 

i 

U4 

:^ 

5 

*  .  * 

^ 

i'    i 

oe. 

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'■  -..  1 

K^ 

'1  -■• 

V> 

■jr 

^.:? 

r- 

••■.zi 

^ 

1 84 


The  Albacore 


thirty  miles  an  hour.  And  that  he  maintains  that 
spc'cd  for  distances  of  over  a  tliousand  yards  broken 
into  several  diilerent  directions,  as  the  llyinf^-fi^li 
changed  its  aerial  course  in  order  to  try  and  dodge- 
its  deadly  foe.  Also,  I  have  repe;itedly  witnessed 
its  dash  into  a  school  of  its  smaller  relatives,  the  skip- 
jack, like  a  Hash  from  tlie  moutli  of  a  gun,  and,  zig- 
zagging back  and  forth  so  rapidly  that  the  eye  could 
scarcely  follow  it  through  the  bewildered  sch.ool,  leave 
the  sea  over  a  large  area  befouled  with  blood  and 
fragments  of  mangled  fi.-h,  whii  h  the  survivors,  imme- 
diately upon  their  enemy's  departure,  bestirred  them- 
selves to  devour. 

Paucity  of  food  it  apparc  ntlv  never  suffers  or  can 
siiffcr  from,  its  natural  prey  being  so  wondrously 
abundant  wlKTe\-er  i*^  roams.  And  in  consequence 
oor,  thin,  and  weak  Albacore  is  ne\-er  seen.  Perhaps 
jj  ^\  an  one  wcxild  be  promptly  devoured  by  its  ex- 
traordinary ravenous  congeners.  The  strength  of  the 
Albacore  is  as  amazing  as  its  speed.  I  hive  seen  a 
strong  man's  arms  completely  paralysed  in  one  minute 
through  trying  to  hold  a  very  small  one,  only  twenty- 
five  pounds  in  weight,  with  his  fingers  clutching  its 
neck  and  his  thumbs  thrust  into  the  gills.  The  hot, 
black-red  blood  literally  boiled  out  of  his  hands  as 
the  dying  fisli's  vibrations  shook  him  like  some  great 
galvanic  battery.  And  for  hours  after  he  was  unable 
to  use  his  arms  in  any  way. 

Its  extreme  limit  of  size  is,  of  course,  indeterminate, 
but  there  are  fairly  authentic  records  of  individuals 
having  been  taken  off  Sicily  of  twelve  hundred  pounds* 
weight.  In  the  world-renowned  tunny  fisheries  of 
the  Italian  and  Sicilian  coasts,  where  they  are  known 
as  ihe  Tunny,  they  are  probably  found  larger  than 
anywhere  else.     .\s  the   Tuna,  they  are  well  known 


A  Great  Fighter 


185 


.n  the  CaWornian  coast,  and  afford  perhaps  the  acme 
r.ngling  sport,  testing  the  angler  to  the  extreme 
nt   of  Hs  endurance.     But   I   never  heard  of  one 
'er  than  eight  hundred  pounds'  weight  beu..g  caugl 
:re.     In  the  deep  sea.  as  far  as  my  expenence  and 
uUation  go.  they  are  seldom  seen  larger  than  s^ 
,  quarter  of  a  ton,  but  that  is  perhaps  because  the 
largest  specimens  do  not  consort  with  ships  as  the 
(jrdinary  sized  ones  do.  . 

The  largest  one  I  ever  had  intimate  acquaintance 
^vith  was   in  Carlisle    Bay,   Barbadoes,   where   I   was 
lung   or  flying-hsh  in  one  of  the  locally  owned  era  t 
V     had  been  most  busily  employed  baling  up  the 
swarming  E.ccctae,  and  had  between  two  and  three 
thousand  of  them  in  the  boat,  when  there  was  a  blaze 
of  silver  sheet  lightning  m  the  water,  followed  by  a 
.wiftly  passing  shadow,  and  the  water  was  ^^bsolutely 
v^id  of'fish  ^there  a  moment  before  there  had  been 
millions.     The  skipper  of  the  boat,  ^^nowing  w^  1    h. 
rause  of  this  sudden  flight,  snatched  up  a  stout  line 
tb.at  lay   ready  coiled  on   the   after-thwart,   inipak^d 
a  flying-fish  on  the  big  hook,  and.  tossing  it  overboard 
ave  L  boat  a  sheer  off  the  light  air  that  was    u  t 
ruffling  the  surface,  and  we  began  to  gather  a  ht t  e 
way,   the   line   streaming   astern.     Hardly   a   minute 
had  elapsed  before  there  was  a  yell  from  the  helms- 
man, and  looking  aft  we  saw  the  line  taut  as  a  harp- 
.tring      The  boat  began  to  move  astern  against  the 
.,nd'  and  we  all  tafled  on  to  the  line.     But  as  we 
...ulci  not  get  an  inch  of  it,  we  led  it  to  the  bow  and 
scoured  It  there,  in  order  that  our  fish,  might  tow  us 
nroperlv.     We  had  nc  fears  for  either  line  or  hook 
^o  for  an  hour  that  big  mackerel  towed  our  ten-ton 
'sloop  whither  he  would,  wmdmg  up  his  tremendous 
exertions  by  a  splendid  hghting  end  m  the  middle 


g 


i36 


The  Albacore 


of  the  bay  amonpst  the  sliipping.  Wc  could  not 
get  him  on  board,  so  we  secured  him  by  a  double 
bii^ht  of  the  line  round  liis  tail,  and  towed  him  into 
the  liarbour,  where,  by  the  aid  of  a  cargo-crane,  we 
landed  him  on  the  quay.  He  scaled  four  hundred 
and  seventy  pounds,  making  a  goodly  sum  for  the 
poor  fishermen  wlio  peddled  him  round  the  town  on 
a  truck.  The  gallant  struggle  he  made  ^or  life  and 
liberty  has  often  been  recalled  to  my  memory  in 
reading  angling  experiences  with  the  Tuna  in  California. 
What  must  be  the  prowess,  endurance,  and  skill  of  an 
angler  who,  in  a  small  boat  with  one  assistant,  a  sk'nder 
rod  and  a  fine  line,  can  succeed  in  securing  a  monster 
of  the  deep  like  that. 

To  my  great  chagrin  I  have  never  succeeded  in 
catching    an    Albacore.     Many    times,    when    fishing 
for  bonito  from  the  jib-boom  of  a  ship,  I  h  ive  hooked 
Albacore  w(i:,'liing  from  forty  to  over  a  hundred  pounds, 
but  never  surceeded  in  pulling  them  up  high  enough 
to  drop  them  ii.  the  gaping  sack.     And  I  was  never 
quite  sure  when  I  had  them  on  the  hook  whether  I 
would  rather  get  them  up  or  see  them  drop  off,  seeing 
what   formidable   creatures   they   are    to   manipulate 
when  in  their  full  vigour,  even  on  deck.     Astride  on 
that  sleuf'  r  spar  twenty  feet  out  ahead  of  the  ship,  I 
had  always  a  feeling  that  the  holding  of  one  would 
most  lik'^iv  ri^-ult  in  the  swift  descent  of  the  pair  of 
us   into   th(^   seething   bow-wave   ahead   of   the   ship. 
Once  I  hoi.kixl  one  in  almost  a  flat  calm  by  dangling 
my  honk  v.ith  a  piece  of  polished  tin  for  a  lure  from 
the  jib-bncni.     lie  was  so  heavy  that  I  could  not  lift 
him,  so  T   played  him  until  I  was  quite  exhausted, 
and   then,    bitterly   disappointed,   had   to    hand   him 
over  to  others.     He  was  exentually  sccur-^d  when  fagged 
out  by  a  man  being  lowered  over  the  side  and  slipping 


A  Mighty  Traveller  1 87 

,  runnin,  bowline  over  his  tail.     He  u^iphcd  one 
uXd  and   twenty   pounds-a  mere   mfant_ 

T  e  ra,v,e  of   f.e   Albacore,  Tunny,  or   Tuna,   rs 
,,      11     U:  oceans  and  seas  havu.g  access  to  the- m 

;  •;^.u^;i^  temperate  .ones.     T..  ^-^te^^^ 

:!:{:::  ^:^^n  Urrn^s  a.,..^  n,^  ^  ^^^-^ 

1   .tw    llyuig-fish    in    1002    m   48     ^•   ' '^'^^  u   !f 

;     hcluLntic    from    Liverpool    to   the    Gulf    of 

•^  Lawrence  m   August,  and   was   --^^^  --P^^ 

;■      I  had  not   h.therto  believed  it   pos..ble   for     Ue 

,:, rectus  to  exist  so  far  outside  the  tropu..      Unhkt 

:  n  ^^n-Uy  of  the  deep-sea  pelagic  or  sur^- ^^^ 

ra.  Aliacore's  places  of  ^P-^'^-^^^\^'\''''J^^^ 
i  nnv  rate   are  very  well  known.     It  is  in  the  Lastern 
tZ::l:^n  and\he  .l^gean  Sea,  ^^r^^^^V^ 
the  \lbicore  migrates  thither  m  countless  thousands 
dbvo  doing  supplies  a  large  proportion  of  the 

St  :n  ^ni^  Of  r  t?  ^^ 

ollJcth  ely.  let  him  tell  his  life-story  as  an  individual 
Ve  V  lo^'cly  and  comfortable  were  the  surroundings 
in  wlch  I  fir^st  emerged  from  the  pearly  round  egg 
;L  of  many  millions  deposited  m  the  -me  -^a  b> 
.  ,ur  parents.     It  was  off  the  northern  shore  «  the  rocky 
■,A  md  of   Khelindromi,   on   the  western  side  of   the 
,        .^gean   Sea.     You   know    the   place     perhaps 
that  is    above  water-know  it  for  one  of  the  mos 
!  ctur  ique  spots  m  the  archipelago.     But  you  canr^ot 
Inow-vou  never  will  know-how  exceedingly  beau- 
ufTis  the  scene  below,  about  the  bases  of  those  quaint 


i88 


The  Albacore 


rock  masses,  whose  summits  are  crowned  by  eyrie- 
like villages,  ar(c..il)lc  only  to  goats  and  island  moun- 
tamcers,  who  (ksrend  from  these  amazing  fastnesses 
for  the  fishing  with  as  much  caution  to-day  as  they  did 
when  every  \  illage  of  the  kind  was  a  jMrate  stronghold 
whose  deni/ens  j^reyed  upon  any  neighbtmr  with  strict 
impartiality. 

Moreover,  you  do  not,  cannot  know  of  the  treasures 
lymg  hid  in  those  dim  depths,  you  can  only  faintly 
guess.  But  a  thou>and  years  of  warfare  and  piracy 
carried  on  in  the  vicinity  of  the  richest  and  most 
artistic  nations  of  the  old  world  has  made  almost  every 
foot  of  the  sea-bed  within  a  few  miles  of  land  a  veritable 
storehouse  of  wonderful  wealth  in  precious  metals 
and  almost  erjually  precious  artistry.  Around  groups 
of  marble  and  bronze  statuary,  amid  heaps  of  gold, 
silver,  and  gems,  twine  the  beautiful  red,  pink,  and 
black  coral,  palpitate  the  masses  of  living  sponge, 
at  such  depths  as  no  diver  has  yet  reached  to  return 
living. 

And  amidst  all  this  splendour,  on  cunning  little 
plateaux  of  silvery  sand  in  level  nooks  floored  with 
powdered  la\a,  in  alcoves  paved  with  coral  fragments 
ground  small  by  the  never-ceasing  attrition  of  ^he 
waves  alone,  I  and  some  millions  of  my  fellow  Albacores 
were  born.  I  did  not  then  know,  as  I  have  learned 
since,  that  in  this  spot  as  in  every  other  where  fish  are 
hatched,  there  were  hosts  of  the  baser  sort  of  fish, 
yes,  even  as  low  as  the  Mcdmae,  those  backboneless 
masses  of  jelly  that  can  hardly  be  said  to  live  in  the 
sense  that  we  higher  organisms  do,  waiting  to  devour 
us  as  soon  as  we  had  attained  an  independent  existence, 
all  hampered  as  we  were  by  the  sustaining  yelk  attachea 
to  our  waists  durir.g  the  first  two  days  of  our  lives. 
We  had  no  protectors  ;   if  our  parents  had  been  there 


Early  Training 


189 


thev  would  have  devoured  us  with  as  prcat  if  not 
'reater  rapidity  than  our  present  inv.  did  ;    but  we 

hul  one   iafeguard,  luul  we  but    ^•--  'Vtirni" 

,,„nerable  numbers.     It  was  inipn...bU.  for  th     mo. 

,n.  ruetic,  the  most  voraeious  of  our  enemies  to  de  tro> 
snot  merely  all  but  more  than  half  of  us      And  this 

liv    If   I  may  so  call  it.  of  superabundant  supply  1. 

what  really  prevents  the  utter  annihilation  of  many 

^necies  in  the  sea. 

^'\o  It  came  to  pass  in  due  time  that,  evading  the 

de^iroyers   in    company  with    some   "^f""^;     ";^ 
brethren,  I  grew  and  waxed  strong  enough  to  eat  in  my 
U        no;  onlv  the  young  of  other  hsh  which  swarmed 
,n  oir  deep  retreat,  but  any  of  my  own    am.  y  tha 
happened  to  be  less  agile  or  weaker  than  I  was.       or 
in  me.  as  in  my  fellows,  but  one  Pl^-'^P^''^^^ 
hdd  swav,  and  guided  as  yet  all  actions.     It  ua.  to 
live    and  in  order  to  live,  to  eat,  never  mmd  who  or 
wha't   so  lon^  as  it  was  eatable.     Our  one  aim,  our  one 
duty  was  to  grow  and  get  big  ;   we  did  not  know  why 
or  how    but  we  obeyed  the  overmastering  law. 

in  due  time  we  began  to  stray  farther  and  farther 
from  our  birthplace    into  deeper   and  deeper  water. 
aUvays  under  the  same  mysteriously  compelling  im- 
puhe,  until  at  last,  having  grown  into  a  s./eable  hsh 
of  about  three  pounds  in  weight,  I  headed  a  goodiy 
company  of  mv  fellows  in  a  straight  course  westward 
out  of  the  Middle  sea,  nor  rested  until  we  found  our- 
.Ixes  out  in  the  vast  expanse  of  the  Atlantic  Ocean. 
How  we  rejoiced  in  our  new-found  freeaom  from    he 
constant  terror  of  enemies  !     Here  they  hardly   roubled 
us  at  all,  or  if  they  did  we  felt  easily  able  to  elude 
pursuit,  being  so  agile  and  cunning  from  our  early 
Lining.      Sc^d    times,    however,    I    had    narrow 
escapes   through  faUing  in  with  adult  individuals   of 


I  go 


The  Albacore 


our  own  r.n-c,  who  sou;,'ht  to  (h'\-(>ur  us  witlio.it  Ri\-iii^' 
us  a  chance  of  escape.  .\Liny  of  my  fellows  who  had 
braved  the  innumerable  clan,i,'ers  of  infancy  with  in^' 
fell  \ictim.s  on  these  occasions.  So  we  gradiiallv 
separated,  some  were  eaten,  more  strayed  away, 
independently  gatherini:?  their  livelihood  from  the 
abundant  sea,  but  all  who  sur\ived  were  growing  with 
astounding  rapidity,  and  i)reparing  to  take  their  place 
in  the  royal  ranks  of  the  great  Albacore. 

Could  I  but  detail  to  you  the  events  of  the  next 
two  years,  they  would  fill  a  goodly  volume  of  hair- 
breadth escapes  and  amazing  travel.  I  cannot  claim 
to  have  vi>ited  any  i>rf)found  depths,  for  our  people 
are  essentially  surface-fish  and  do  not  descend  deeper 
than  one  hundred  fathoms.  But  within  that  limit 
I  have,  I  think,  explored  most  of  ocean's  fastnesses, 
braved  most  of  the  dangers  that  await  our  people. 
Many  days  did  I  hnger  about  the  base  of  St.  Paul's 
Rocks  in  the  North  Atlantic  eating  my  fill  continually 
of  all  species  of  deep-water  fisii  smaller  than  myself, 
who  were  utterly  unable  to  escape  the  clash  of  my 
unerring  and  lethal  jaws.  Here  I  learned  to  avoid 
the  fearful  ^oils  of  the  brooding  cuttle-fish,  having 
torn  m\  .elf  free  from  the  deadly  touch  of  an  arm  of 
one  of  these  monsters  crouching  in  a  darksome  cave. 
Here,  too,  by  a  turn  of  my  body,  almost  as  swift  as 
light,  did  I  avoid  the  thrust  of  a  giant  relative  of  mine, 
a  sword-fish,  whose  weapon  grazed  my  bodv  along 
its  entire  length,  leaving  a  wide  white  weal  whereby 
I  became  known  and  identified  in  after  years,  not 
merely  by  mine  own  people  but  by  men. 

But  I  escaped  all  these  dangers,  as  did  many  of 
my  fellows  born  at  the  same  time  in  the  iEgean,  and 
ranged  the  waters  of  -Mid-Atlantic  as  being  in  my 
rightful  realm,   a  veritable  sovereign  of  the  sea.     I 


Adult  Joys 


191 


i 


skirted  tlio  vast  masses  of  myriad-tenanted  weed  that 
go  to  make  up  the  curious  ocean  eddy  known  as  the 
Sargasso  Sea,  and  many  a  quaint  lisli  found  its  way 
(l,<wn  into  my  ever-ready  stomach  as  I  prowl,  d  arouml 
ready  for  stragglers,  yet   not   daring  to  venture   too 
far  into  that  dense  entanglement,  sacred   to  the  up- 
hringing  of  an  incalcul,il)le  number  of  young  sea  crea- 
tures,  because  of    its    security    against    such    stiudy 
marauders  as  I  had  now  become.     I  learned  that  ships 
might   be    safelv   consorted    with,    and    usefully    too, 
because  of  their  pleasant  habit  of  searing  up  the  smaller 
creatures  upon  which  I  loved  to  feed,  but  on  several 
occasions    I    very    narrowly  escaped    destruction,   by 
misMng  a  hue  let  down  before   my  da/zled  eyes  by 
some  hungry  miscreant  on  board  one  of  these  floating 

thincrs. 

But  I  shall  never  forget  an  experience  I  had,  which 
I  think  did  more  to  round  my  girth  and  stiffen  my 
sturdy  frame  than  any  other.     It  was  in  the  North 
Atlantic  too,  on  the  south-western  verge  of  the  Sar- 
gasso Sea.     I  had  been  hungrily  pursuing  a  vast  school 
of  llying-fish,  and  occasionally  snapping  up  a  straggler 
or  two  that  only  served  to  make  my  hunger  more 
acute,  when  I  suddenly  darted  into  a  vast  black  shadow 
(it  was  blading  noon),  in  the  cool  of  which  it  seemed 
that  all  the  edible  fish  imaginable  were  congregated. 
I  swam  leisurely  to  and  fro,  and  filled  my  maw  almost 
to  bursting,  then  languidly  surveyed  my  surroundings. 
I  found  that  I  was  beneath  a  wooden  .ship,  deserted 
of  her  crew  for  long,  yet  so  buoyant  by  reason  of  her 
cargo  that  she  could  not  sink.     Upon  her  sheltering 
planks  had  clustered  an  immense  mass  of  sea-growth, 
weed,  barnacles,  limpets,  and  so  forth,  and  of  course 
these  had   attracted  to  themselves,  as  offering  easily 
obtained   food,   an   enormous   number   of   fish,   both 


^ 


192 


The  Albacorc 


vertcbrafos  and  cnistaccn.  Those  in  their  turn  had 
invited  tlir  attendance  of  larL^'er  fish  hke  myself,  until 
the  wholr  area  of  sea  around  that  nearly  submer{;rd 
hull  was  literally  alive,  and  all  the  population  wee  bu'^v 
feeding  up'ii  one  another.  It  was  a  jelightful  time 
for  me,  for  I  was  viTy  nearly  immune  from  pursuit 
by  any  of  the  others,  being  so  large.  But  I  narrowly 
cseajied  annihilation  here  one  day.  Prowling  leisurelv 
about,  sucking  in  dainty  morsels  to  titillate  an  already 
overcharged  stomach,  I  saw  shining  before  me  a  white 
cavern,  down  which  many  fish  were  swimming  eagerly 
as  if  in  chase  of  some  prey.  I  was  minded  to  follow, 
and  but  that  I  was  lazy  with  repletion  would  have 
done  so.  Ihiwever,  I  turned  away  carelessly,  just 
in  time  to  note  that  the  cave  turned  almost  as  if  upon 
an  axis,  the  ( ntrancc  closed,  and  a  vast  black  mass, 
the  bodv  of  a  sjierm  whale,  ascended  to  the  surface. 
A  very  narnnv  escape  indeed,  but  one  that  did  not 
affict  me  at  the  time  any  more  than  it  would  have 
affected  me  had  I  been  one  of  the  visitors  to  that 
cavern. 

Many  a  ship>  did  I  interview  on  my  long  cruise  in 
the  North  Atlantic,  but  to  none  did  1  adhere  closely, 
for  it  is  not  the  custom  of  our  people.  I  loved  to  follow 
the  ships  and  swim  round  them,  fijr  I  saw  how  L!;^y 
stirred  up  the  squid  and  flying-fish  upon  which  I  loved 
to  feed,  but  it  was  exceedingly  seldom  that  I  came 
near  enough  to  one  of  these  floating  masses  to  discern 
its  outlines,  much  less  to  incur  any  danger  from  hcld- 
out  lures.  I  was  not  yet  old  enough  to  be  so  venture- 
some. In  due  time  I  went  round  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope,  forgatliering  as  I  did  so  with  a  multitude  of 
queer  fish  on  tlic  great  Agulhas  Banks.  In  sooth, 
that  was  a  goodlv  time.  None  of  those  fat  cod  and 
steinbrass  had  any  fear  of  me,  or  seemed  to  regard 


in' 


a-^ 


an 


Tropical  Experiences  193 

a  inv,  the  while  I  scooped  thorn  into  the 


ifuUIK 


am 


I     never 


-to-be-satisficd    cavity     of    my 


^tiiai 


ach. 


I  was  well-inin 


lied  to  make  that  my  hnn    ,  decmin?? 


was  \veii-iniiiae( 

It  l)est  in  all  the  seas  I  had  yet  visite<l,  but  I  r..uld 
„,,l  endure   the   cold,   tlu^   deadly  ehiU   that,   creepuig 
„T,  from   southward,   sei/ed   upon   me   and   made   me 
lalpless   when    I   would   fain   have   been   most   lielpful 
to   nivself.     So    I    bade    farewell    reluctantly    to    my 
:„H„1  friends  and  ho>ts  who  "lad  fed  me  so  bountifully 
n-,  .11  theni-lves,  and  made  my  tpiiet  wa\  nortliward 
a'rnss   the    Indian   Ocean.     Ah,   that   is  a   pleasantly 
prMhlic   sea!     For  K'"wing   fish  like   myself   there   is 
nnne  better,  il  one  does  but  keep  a  wary  eye  lifting  for 
the  sword-li>h  and  the  grampus,  who  alone  of  all  the 
fiJav  kind  can  give  such  as  I  am  an  uneasy  moment. 
M  ,nv  montlis  I  lingered  in  those  cpiiet  waters,  feeding, 
ever  feeding,  and  growing  apace,  so  that  I  began  to 
wax  prideful,  and  wonder  if  in  all  the  wide  sea  there 
was  eviT  seen  an  Albacore  like  me. 

Presently  I  won  to  the  intricacies  of  the  Eastern 
■\nhiiielago,    which    qui-erly    reminded    me    of    my 
l,irthplace  except  for  the  strange  currents  that  roared 
an<l  eddied  round  about  tho^e  clustering  isles  and  reefs. 
Put   for  food!     They  simply  swarmed  with  all  that 
I  n.  eded  or  desired,  and  I  led  me  full  and  grew  la/ily 
fat   as  if  in  all  the  seas  I  alone  was  being  fed,  I  alone 
h,ul   a   claim   upon   the   Power  whose   provision   had 
arr  .n-ed  for  tlie  sustenance  of  His  humblest  creatures^ 
Throughout    the    whole    of    tliat    vast    network   of 
reifs,  submerged  volcanoes,  and  island  bases,  I  roamed 
with  never  a  care.     Mwavs  I  kept  the  same  watchful 
nutlook  for  mine  ancient  enemy  the  sword-fish,  whom 
alune,  of  all  the  deep-sea  folk,  I  now  dreaded  ;   always 
I  bore  in  mmd  that  to  enter  any  cavern,  however 

13 


194 


The  Albacore 


entirint;  its  opening  seemed  to  be,  might  very  possibl) 
mean  tluit  out  of  it  I  shouUl  never  come  again,  since 
it  miglit  be  the  throat  of  a  sperm  whale,  or  it  miglit 
contain  in  its  deep  recesses  a  network  of  Hviiig  arms, 
from  which  1  cjuld  in  no  wise  escape.  And  I  grew 
so  fast,  girth  and  length  increased  amazingly,  and  as 
for  my  strength,  I  did  not  know  its  greatness,  except 
that  I  could,  and  often  did,  hurl  m^'self  higli  into  the 
sunblaze  after  a  fleeing  tlying-fish,  descendmg  swiftly 
with  him  between  my  jaws,  full  of  exultation  at  my 
own  achievement. 

Here  I  met  with  almost  all  that  our  levels  of  the 
ocean  hold  of  strange  sea  monsters,  and  held  my  own 
among  tliem  with  utmost  pride,  for  I  feared  none. 
Indeed,  T  was  almost  too  haughtily  careless,  for, 
despising  the  prowling  Pristis,  or  saw-fish,  I  once 
almost  allowed  a  vast  creature,  three  times  larger  than 
myself,  to  rip  me  asundi  '•  from  beneath,  as,  swiftly 
;  ''ding  like  a  black  shadow  he  changed  from  the  dull 
attitude  of  lethargy  he  was  assuming  as  I  passed  him 
so  carelessly.  Thenceforward  I  held  a  strictly  wary 
attitude  to  him  and  his  like  until,  feeling  a.  irresistible 
call  upon  me  so  to  do,  I  left  those  pleasant  food-full 
viters  and  set  out  for  my  long  journey  across  the 
Northern  Pacific.  I  say  long  to  suit  your  meagre 
coniprehension  ;  to  me  its  length  was  a  mere  matter 
of  indifference,  for  the  exercise  of  my  powers  were 
as  spontaneous  and  natural  to  me  as  the  gyrations 
of  birds  in  the  air  above,  there  being  no  consciousness 
of  effort. 

I  would  I  could  recall  for  you  the  incidents  of  that 
trip  from  China  to  Calif(;rnia.  Tell  you  of  the  voyagers 
like  myself  whom  I  met  and  exchanged  greetings  with 
in  the  Middle  sea,  of  the  myriad  wonders  that  to  me 
became   commonplaces.     Make   you   understand   the 


Pride  of  Power 


195 


,,!l-r(iT-nptlling  power  that,  implanted  in  me  and  in  tliose 
t  met   with  in  all  my  jouriu  vin;,'^,  made  us  employ 
Miir  vigour  in  the  way  we  did,  and  fill  ourselves  with 
the  shVer  delight  of  dean,  ahoiinding  life.     Describe 
t,  vou  the  splendour  of  the  midnight  sea,  the  brilliantly 
;:iiiniinated  waters,  lit  beyond  all    man's  imaginings, 
ir.J  \et  ever  assuring  us  that  beyond  our  powers  of 
iinestigation    H\re   splendours   far   greater.     Never   a 
hungry  moment,  never  one  instant  when  I  felt  that  I 
oiiglit' never  to  have  been,  as  I  knov,-  you  humans  do 
{•■■  1  ;   ah  !    how  inueh  I  have  lived  !     Once  I  measured 
my  speed   against    a    mighty   steamship   in    company 
with    many    porpoises.     I    easily    outstripped    them 
ill,  easily  swam  round  her  as  she  did  her  best,  and 
wIkii  under  her  bows  crossing,  was  rewarded  for  my 
111  .-nilicent  exhibition  of  strength  and  endurance  by 
iu^t  escaping  a  bruial  downward  thrust  of  a  weapon 
with    line    barbed    points.     One    did    plough    a   deep 
fmr :)w  in  my  side  ;   but  I  did  not  mind  that  ;   wounds 
far  deeper  and  more  serious  are  healed  at  sea,  and  the 
receiver  of  them  cares  not  nor  bears  malicious  remem- 
br.uice  of  them. 

In  due  time  (what  do  I  know  of  time  divisions 
<i.  h  as  bind  you  ?)  I  arrived  at  Puget  Sound.  It 
w,i>  high  summer,  and  tho-e  pellucid  waters  were  full 
of  tish.  Never  before  had  I  tasted  tiie  joys  of  biting 
into  the  body  of  a  twehe  to  twenty  pound  salmon, 
of  ch  i-intr  a  school  of  immature  salmon  into  an  est  .._.  y, 
wiiere  I  could  devour  them  at  my  leisure.  -.    t 

h.  re  a  perfe.-tly  satisfying  holiday,  daily  adding  -O 
my  girth  and  other  powers.  Then  I  thought  I  would 
go  sout'  or,  rather,  the  initial  impulse  was  com- 
municated to  me  by  that  outside  force  of  which  we 
know  nothing,  bit  that  we  all  acknowledge  its  power, 
aiid  I  sidled  southwards  reluctantly. 


;:Ji 

^ 

-  J 

i5 

-• 

fie. 

'AJ 

• .  1 

.  -  - 

■v> 

■n: 

13 

igG 


The  Albacore 


That  was  a  proi     'nition  of   disaster,   had   I   but 
known  it,  for  on  the    .cond  day  of  my  arrival  on  the 
Cahfornian  coast  I  was  hfting  myself  lazily,  with  a 
full  stomach,  to  a  passing  squid,  a  tiny  creature  not 
worth  my  attention,  when  I  felt  a  sharp  pain  slvjot 
through  my  jaw  and  a  slender  yet  annoying,  pull  at 
my  head.     In  rage  I  started  seaward,  regarding  not 
the  sting  among  my  teeth  ;    furiously  I  wondered  who 
had  dared  attempt  this  outrage  upon  me.     I  do  not 
care  to  say  how  dire  was  the  distress   I   felt  when, 
owing  to  the  skill  of  the  m.m-thing  in  the  boat,  behind 
the  rod  and  at  the  end  of  the  line  that  had  hooked 
me,  I  could  not  get  fre(>.     I  only  record  that  from  the 
rising  to  the  setting  of  the  sun  that  man  fought  with 
me,  and  was  drawing  me  so  near  to  his  boat  that  I 
felt  almost  hopeless  of  ever  seeing  blue  water  again, 
when  I  made  my  supreme  effort.      I  dived  seaward 
at  utmost  power,  and  almost  immediately  knew  that 
I  was  free.     But  I   bore   with  me  a  souvenir  of  my 
encounter  in   the   shape   of   a  barbed   piece   of   steel 
imbedded  in  my  lower  jaw,  which  galled  me  terribly. 
It  had  struck  through  a  piece  of  plated  bone,  and  could 
not  work  out.     Still,  after  awhile  it  ceased  to  annoy, 
and  I  grew  quite  unmindful  of  its  presence, until  at  last, 
when  it  did  drop  out,  I  knew  not  of  its  going.     Is  it 
necessary  for  me  to  say  that  I  left  those  inhospitable 
shores  in  haste  ?     I  had  no  idea  that  men  would  hunt 
for  me  in  such  a  fashion,  no  prevision  of  any  danger— 
but   I  must  not  anticipate.     Out  on  the  blue,  wide, 
free  sea  I  bore,  and,  resuming  the  glad,  free  life  of  my 
deep-water  fellows,  soon  forgot  my  perilous  adventuie. 
Now,  had  I  realised  it,  I  was  beginning  a  terrihc 
journey  without  any  such  halt  as  I  had  before  enjoyed 
in  the' cool  recesses  of  the  East  Indian  Archipelago. 
The  need  was  laid  upon  me  to  go  westward,  ever 


Homeward  Bound 


197 


..     tward  and  southward,  for,  plth<ni-h  I  did  not  know 
■  ■    „,v  God-qiven  in-tinrt  forb.ido  nu^  attempting  the 
•  '>,,ge  of  Cape  Horn,  where  the  cold  would  .ertandy 
u  ive  strirken  me  dead.     l)ut  these  things  being  hidden 
from  me,  I  farrd  leisurdv  on  my  way,  taking  bright 
<>  I  and  gem-hke  clu>tLT3  of  islets  in  my  way  as  they 
came,  like  a  philosopher.      Indeed,  I  felt  myself  one 
n,,w      I  had  seen  almost  the  whole  world,  and  none  ot 
It.  wonders  had  anv  power  to  move  me.     Only,  I  did 
f.vl  an  intense  lom^mg  for,  a  mighty  drawing  to,  the 
V.  .t(  r^  of  mv  birtlii'lace,  so  very  far  away.     I  did  not 
in  the  least  know  where  that  birthplace  was,  but  what 
.,{  that  ?     As  the  magnet  draws  the  needle,  so  I  was 
b.  .1-  rhawn,  and  though  only  dimly  conscious  of  it, 
,..,mle  content  to  be  guided.     Time  did  not  matter 
_v.e  d(j  not  reckon  the  hours  in  our  beautiful  home 
1.  n.  ath  the  sea.     We  are  content  to  fulfil  the  law  of 
,,  n  heiu".  without  regard  to  how  long  or  short  a  time 
It  t„kes^in  fact,  for  us,  time  has  no  meaning.     We 
live  in  a  timeless  state,   in  what  you  call  Eternity, 
except  that  we  are  so  frail,  so  continually  passing  from 
em-  shape  to  another. 

So  g-uhiallv  I  worked  my  way  round  the  watery 
wnrld  towards  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  quite  unmolested 
hv  anything  or  anybody,  but  forgathering  on  my  way 
u.th  many  of  mv  congeners,  all  bound  in  the  same 
direction.     And  the  strange  thing  about  all  our  journey- 
•:-s  was  that  none  of  us  knew  why  we  were  going— 
u  J  onlv  felt  that  we  must  go,  and  also  were  sure  that 
wc  should  arrive  at  our  destination  unless—but  then 
v.r  never  anticipated  any  cessation  of  being,  we  just 
V,.  iit  on  living  our  life  with  all  our  might.     Gradually, 
V  r,ly,  I  worked  mv  way  round  the  Cape,  wondering 
-  nuu'h  as  we  can  uoiuk-r  at  the  numbers  of  my  fellows 
1  idi  in  with.     Having  led  (luite  a  solitary  life  for  so 


igS 


The  Albacore 


many  months,  it  became  almost  irksome  to  me  to  meet 
so  many  of  my  kind  at  one  time.  And  when  I  found 
the  numbers  of  my  friends  daily  increasing,  I  felt 
almost  a  panic  fear  lest  the  supnly  of  food  should  fail 
us.  How  little,  for  all  my  experience,  did  I  yet  know 
of  ocean's  resources !  Presently  I  found  mv..lf 
svyimmmg  in  the  van  of  quite  a  large  school  of  huL-. 
Albacore,  making  steadily  northward  up  that  pleasant 
sea  of  the  south-east  trades  towards  the  Line 

We  overtook  a  ship-a  great  white-winged  .hip 
—whose  crew  never  molested  us,  and  whose  passage 
through  the  quiet  waters  stirred  up  for  us  quite  an 
abundance  of  savoury  food,  such  as  squid  and  flying- 
fish.     But  she  proved  a  treacherous  guide,  a  dangerous 
friend.     We  followed  her  docilely  into  St.  Helena  Bay 
and  when  we  got  over  the  shock  of  her  anchoring' 
played  about  her  as  we  had  done  aforetime.     Then 
the   natives   came   with   spears   and   hooks   and  slew 
amongst  us  to  their  hearts'  content,  as  we  basked  in 
the  sun  or  sought  the  shade  of  what  we  had  grown  to 
consider  our  great  friend  and  protector.     It  was  an 
awful  massacre,  the  first  I  had  ever  seen  of  my  own 
kind,  although  I  suppose  that  my  inroads  upon  the 
schools  of  skip-jack  would  be  looked  upon  by  those 
victims  in  the  same  light.     But  it  may  well  be  asked 
why  did  we  not  by  a  few  flashes  of  our  tails  speed 
seaward    and    downward,    where    nought    of    man's 
harmful  devising  could  touch  us  to  do  us  hurt  '     I 
do  not  know  ;    I  can  only  record  facts  and  say  that  at 
the  onslaught  of  the  fishermen  we  just  rushed  aimlessly 
about  in  the  blood-stained  water,  as  do  the  skip-jack 
or  bonito  when  we  suddenly  make  a  raid  upon  them. 
Were    I   given    to   speculation    upon    any   subject     I 
should  suppose  that  it  was  a  providential  suspension 
Of  our  usually  acute  faculties  for  t'  c  benefit  of  mankind, 


A  Great  Slaying 


199 


uho  would   otherwise   have   no   chance   whatever   to 
obt.un  our  nesh  for  food.  ,    ,    ,  „ 

But  when  the  slaving  ceased,  and  the  boats  lader^ 
a.no.t  to  sinking  with   dead   Albacore  had   returned 
\o  harbour,  our  panic  ceased  also  and,  closini;  up  our 
.-.ttcrcd  ranks,  we  resumed  our  journey  "'f  l^^^''^" 
The  great  catch  granted  to  the  islanders  at  St.  Helena 
r.  illy  seemed  to  have  made  no  nerceptible  difference 
to'  our  numbers,  whuh,  it  must  ue  remembered,  were 
continually  being  added  to  by  recruits  from  all  sides. 
';„  that  when  we  reached  Ascension,  that  lonely  rock 
in  the  middle  of  the  wide  Atlantic,  whose  shelving 
.ules  beneath  the  sea  swarm  with  all  that  an  Albacore 
n.ed  use,  we  were  an  army  of  great  fishes  swmnmng 
in  close  order  covenn  /  nearly  a  square  mile,  and  in 
HKUW   places  ten   fathoms   deep.     Our  descent   upon 
.\scension  must  have  caused  an  awful  panic  among 
its  submarine  population,  all  of  whom,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  some  vast  cuttle-fish  that  inveigled  a  few  of 
our  members,  paid  delicious  tribute  to  us,  satisfying 
our  hungry  needs,  as  far  as  they  ever  are  satisfied,  m 
a  most  enjoyable  way. 

To  say  that  we  swept  the  rock  basec  bare  would 
be  .-xaggcration,   but   we   certainly   did   find   on   the 
.. vond  day  of  our  visit  that  the  juicy  morsels  which 
bad  been  so  plentiful  were  scarce  and  hard  to  come 
by      So  we  simultaneously  moved  off  without  any  word 
of  command,  any  leader,  any  directing  lmpulsc^  save 
the  one   unerring   instinct.     And  how  f'dly  sufficient 
It  was'     Just   after  departing,  however,  we  suffered 
considerable  diminution  of  our  forces,  a  really  notice- 
ible  lessening  of  our  vast  numbers,  compared  to  which 
the  slaying   at   St.    Helena  was  not  worth  mention. 
We  encountered  a  vast  school  of  sperm  whales  whose 
mighty  bodies  lay  end-on  to  our  path,  and  all  their 


200 


The  Albacore 


cavernous  ia\v?,  were  wide  agape.  Down  into  those 
enticing  interiors  our  people  {)lunged  eagerly,  silently, 
without  thought  or,  had  'hey  known  it,  hope  of  return. 


As  I  have  already  said,  l  ki 


pk 


it-looki 


cnew  those 
but  deadly  entrances  too  well  to  be  taken  in  by  them  ; 
so  carefully  avoiding  them  I  swam  on,  steadily  on, 
through  the  black  ranks  of  the  monsters  so  busily 
entombing  my  companions  by  hundreds.  That  was 
all  any  of  us  needed  to  do,  just  to  avoid  the  gaping 
throats,  otherwise  we  were  perfectly  safe  from  molesta- 
tion at  the  mouth  of  any  whale  that  ever  swam. 

So  we  fared  on,  our  diminution  more  than  made 
up  in  a  few  hours  by  the  recruits  constantly  closing 
in  upon  us  from  eveiy  side,  and  passed  througl;  those 
quiet  waters  between  the  Trades  in  very  leisurely 
fashion.  For  they  are  very  ricli  in  tlie  food  we  love, 
and  we  were  all  singularly  voracious  even  for  us. 
Instinct  warned  us  that,  where  we  were  going,  food 
wcm'd  be  far  from  plentiful,  while  duties  of  reproduction 
would  require  us  to  be  in  the  very  best  of  condition. 
So,  in  spite  of  tlie  magnetism  drawing  us  ever  onward, 
we  neglected  no  opportunities  for  feeding,  and  must 
surely,  for  a  short  time  at  least,  have  rendered  the  path 
taken  by  us  through  the  Atlantic  almost  bare  of  food 
for  the  l(Aver  members  of  our  family.  But  tliat  I 
cannot  positively  say  ;  I  never  missed  food.  Alth-ugli 
I  was  always  hungry,  there  always  hapi)ened  to  be 
food  near  my  mouth,  and  the  way  I  continued  to  put 
on  girth  and  strength  was  truly  wonderful. 

At  last  we  drew  near  tlie  Straits  of  Gibraltar, 
millions  of  us  in  a  compact  body,  swimming  steadily 
forward  now,  witliout  thought  of  eating,  in  a  triangle 
some  miles  in  area.  No  human  being  knew  of  our 
coming,  because  we  swam  at  a  de{)th  of  ten  fathoms 
or  thereabouts,   nor  ever  rose  to  the  surface.     Our 


Our  Welcome  Home  201 

coil  nearly  gained,  the  dra\vin-   pouvr  over  us  that 
l,,a  so  mysteriously  brought  us  from  the  furthermost 
.nds  of  the  cartii  seemed  to  have  suddenly  nureased 
Its   force,    accelerated   our   speed,    and   overcome   our 
,i,.-ire  for  food.     So  we  swept  up  tlie  centre  of  the  great 
Middle  sea  as  far  as  rantrlLaia,  when,  as  if  actuated 
l,v  a  sudden  impulse,  the  mighty  wedge  of  steadily 
.Nvmuning     fisli    parted     in    two    irregular    portions 
,ach  portion  inunediately  closing  up  its  disarranged 
iVMire  into  triangular  shape  again.     The  le-^er  triangle 
kq.l  on  eastward,  bearing  over  towards  the  African 
o).ist.  but  the  larger  one  swerved  sharply  to  the  north- 
ward for  the  Sicilian  shores. 

\gain.  I  cannot  tell  why  no  instinct  warned  us  of 
„ur  awful  danger  ;  but  I  swam,  bring  one  of  the  largest 
of  our  giant  members,  at  the  head  of  this  great  body 
until  we  came  r^ght  up   to   the  rock  bases  of   Sicily-, 
Mul  splitting  up  into  numerous  small  bodies  swarmed 
.!,,n"  the  shores  of  Italv  and  Sicily,  and  through  the 
Mia'its  of   Messina.     AU  had  been   prepared  for  our 
viMt    although  it  had  been  quite  unher.ilded  by  any 
advanced    guards,    the    humans    on    land    depending 
eiitu-ely  upon  our  faithfulness  and  constant  adherence 
to   our    regular    customs.     In    places    where   we   had 
always  come   hitherto,   that   is,   our   ancestors,   great 
rorrals  of  netting  had  been  prepared  with  long  passages 
i:!to  which  we  must  swarm  to  get  to  the  regular  spawn- 
in--grounds.     And  many  boats  full  of  men  lay  quietly 
wlitmg  to  harass,  with  shouting  and  splashing,  any 
idea  of  returning  with  a  rush  that  we  might  liavc-^ 
III  this  way  an  enormous  number  were  captured  and 
^1  'in;    for  once  witliin  these  barriers  of  netting,  and 
'Jae  \vay  out  again  barred,  we  were  driven  farther  and 
farther    into    shallower  and   narrower  places,   where 
savage  men  armed  with  spears  slaughtered  our  helpless 


202 


The  Albacorc 


members  to  their  full  content.  And  wr  had  come 
all  round  the  world  for  tliis  !  Tlie  terrible  massacre 
was  proceeding  at  many  j^laces  with  the  utmost  fury, 
an  i  in  mid-sea  queerly  rigged  feluccas  were  luring 
individuals  with  huge  rods  and  stout  lines  ;  an  easy 
task,  for  we  were  all  so  ravenous  that  a  fluttering  piece 
of  rag  was  at  once  mistaken  for  a  flying-fish  or  squid, 
and  eagerly  snapped  at. 

Oh,  it  was  a  black  and  awful  time  for  us,  and  yet 
in  spite  of  the  elaborate  preparations  made  everywhere 
for  our  capture,  and  of  our  utter  want  of  forethought 
or  attempt  to  avoid  those  deadly  shores,  it  is  certain 
that  only  the  mere  fringes  of  our  great  host  were  cap- 
tured. But  those  of  us  who  escaped  could  claim  no 
credit  for  superior  wisdom  or  greater  skill  in  avoiding 
danger.  We  survived,  because  for  one  thing  the  sea 
is  so  wide  and  so  deep,  even  the  Mediterranean,  that 
man  is  closely  limited  in  his  powers  of  destruction, 
and  b(  cause,  there  being  so  many  of  as,  all  could  not 
get  inshore  at  once  to  where  the  traps  were  laid  for 
us.  Also,  the  majority  of  us  were  bound  farther 
eastward  to  the  .■Egean,  to  those  quiet  spawning-beds 
where  I  was  born,  and  where  in  due  time  I  arrived 
again  after  visiting  all  the  tropical  and  temperate 
parts  of  the  oceans  of  the  w^rld  down  to  a  depth  of 
one  hundred  fathoms. 

Then  commenced  the  all-important  business  of  our 
visit.  The  females  in  long  ranks  settled  down  upon 
the  pleasant  smooth  patches  of  sandy  sea-floor  in  all 
the  sheltered  nooks  so  well  remembered,  and  deposited 
with  utmost  care  and  regularity  their  burdens  of 
pearly  eggs  in  long,  level  rows.  Behind  them  swam 
the  males,  steadily,  methodically  distributing  milt 
and  spreading  it  evenly  with  quiet  wavings  of  broad 
tails,  at  the  rame  time  keeping  a  wary  eye  open  for 


iO     l'i':.M.\I,KS    SKTTI.Kl)     ItOWX     fl'OX     TllK     SMOOTl 
I'AI'CUKS  OK  SA.NDV   si:.\  h-l.OOIl. 


Unnatural  Appetites 


203 


the  possible  advent  of  marauders.     But  no  sooner  was 
the  important  part  of  the  business  accomphshed  than 
our  hunger  often  tempted  us  to  devour  this  treasure 
uc  had  come  so  far  to  deposit,   and  I   .ere  at  once 
row  that  the  greatest  enemies  of  our  own  ova  were 
i,urselves      Wliy  we  did  not  render  the  race  extinct 
1  know  not,   unless  tliat  in  .nanv,   nay,   most  cases 
the  eggs  had  been  so  cunningly  hidden  tliat  we  couhl 
not   find  them  ourselves.     Nor  do  I   know  how  long 
the  business  lasted.     Only  one  day,  impelled  by  tlie 
inrccst   pangs   of   hunger,    and   by   an    uncontrollable 
dr.ire  to  get  out  where  food  was  plentiful,  I  started 
ur.tward   at   a   furious   rate  of   speed,    and   escaping 
every  lure,  soon  found  myself  once  more  in  the  Atlantic, 
recommencing  my  world-wide  wanderings. 


o 


CIIAPTKR    XVI 

THE    EONITO 

XE  nf  ihc  fir-t  of  the  (In  p-sci  ppoplo  to  croot  the 
\-(inii,i;  (1(  I  p-WMtcr  v.iilnr  ;,»t(T  tlir  p  irpoisc,  is  tin 


i\'.  ell 


nl)l)\-.aiul  hnlli.uit  ti^li  ui 


!'  i-c  ii.inic  stand-; 


,1' 


Inf    (1 


11- 


riM!)'!']- 


Ii.iii;^li  \'o\ML;c'r^.  t 


It  W.iS   tllUS   (Mllcfl    1)V    till 

liiMiitifiil. 


wci'il  iiicinmi 


at  t!i 

earl\- 

P>nt   I  (1(1  not  think  tli(\-  thus  named  it  for  its  cohjurs 

or  it-  i^racc  of  nio\'cnn  iit,  ^nicc  in  l)')th  it  i^;  fjrcatlv 

the   ml, nor  of  the  Cc^rxph  .  ;.'./.      K'atluT  I  tliink  it 

so    -alKd  from   its  edible 

friendliness  and   aiiK  iia 


was 


ipialities.  (  Mmi)ined  with  its 
liilitv  to  rapture.  It  is  a  far 
more  fre([ne;it!v  S(  i  n  ti-li  than  cither  the  alharore  or 
dolphin,  and  is  also  nmch  more  soc  iahle  than  either 
of  them.  Moreover,  it  is  ,t,Men;;irious  in  its  habits,  and 
swims  in  V(  ry  lar^e  comi^uhes,  so  lari^'e,  in  fact,  that 
I  liave  oftt'n  in  light  winds,  when  the  sea  has  been 
comparatively  smooth,  been  unable  to  look  in  any 
direction  without  seeing  Honito  busily  leaping  about 
after  their  tcrrilii  d  niev. 


It  is  ccrtainlv  a  mackerel. 


sp 


)f   th 


a  poor  relation,  so  to 


aii)acore 


which  it  g'  \atly  resembles, 
tliough  with  se\-eral  important  dittennccs.  For  in- 
stance, the  brilliant  gold  colour  and  imjwsing  size 
of  the  albacore's  fins  are  greatly  modihed  in  the  case 
of  the  P,onito,  as  are  also  the  curious  bony  processes 
along  the  medial  liiu^  m  ar  the  tail.  Its  colour,  too, 
a  dark  blue,  is  not  so  prf^nounced,  so  transparently 


\v 


The  Amiable  Fish  205 

.    ;.    th.t    of    the    ulh.KPiv.      In    fart,    it 

.Mctv,  after  the  whale     nbc       ^     ,         ^,,,1^^  ,(,,1,,, 

■».r   rnntiled  With  wh.l  it  i>  •»iiy  a -.iif,ii<- =w 
,haracter,couplcaw  demeanour,  is  what 

::■:■  ,»;«'hr::;u,yf o„>y .....  .-..a  v„y  ..,0 

4.1  ,f  T  ivivp  seen  hooked  ana  gei  ^^way. 
linking  my  lure,  wulu  c*  „  :„t^  ti  ,>  lir  revealed 

:,;;.;;'"  I  st;  s™  con....,  ^ixr\^:^t 

„!,  ,„.u  in  mid-air  -<^^S°1  t,!a     ^^tlhl.ands  to 
''■■■'^■>'  ""'  '  "v  t  r  'cc    d      m  ;   „g.ng  him  within 

""■'"""'r""'''l  r  1,      Tim  the  bng-«.ffcring  line 
,,  loot  o    mr^^   Ti.;n        ^^^^„     ^^^^^  ^^^.^ 

p.rlod  a..d  ho    oil  ba  l.    nt  ^^^^  ^^,^^1^  ^ 

„,U.   a  f  P™*^"";/,  i-i'';;,,^  d   for  how  could  I,  on 
simJJor  fro.n  what  1  haa  ci-apou, 


'I 
is 


206 


The  Bonito 


that  giddy  eminence,  have  dealt  with  such  a  monster  ? 
He  would  certainly  have  paralysed  my  grip  with  his 
struggles  and  shaken  me  off  the  boom.  The  dolphin, 
too,  is  a  fish  that  is  seldom  caught,  not  because  it  will 
not  take  a  hook  voraciously  when  tlie  circumstances 
are  favourable  to  its  being  deceived,  but  because  it 
is  not  so  sociable  in  its  instincts  as  is  the  Bonito,  and 
consequently  does  not  give  the  sailor  so  many  oppor- 
tunities of  becoming  closely  associated  with  it. 

But  the  Bonito  is  essentially  the  sailor's  friend.     In 
a  slow-moving  ship  with  a  light  breeze,  I  have  known 
a  school  of  Bonito  keep  company  with  the  vessel  for 
three   days  at  a  time.     Apparently  they   took   it  in 
turns  to  escort  her  by  proceeding  steadily  in  orderly 
rows  under  and  around  the  bows,  while  the  rest  gam- 
bolled about,  hunting  ahead,  abeam  and  astern.     And 
I  have  often  seen  three  lines  going  among  them  at 
once,  fish  after  fish  taking  the  upward  journey,  until 
two  or  three  dozen  have  been  caught,  and  never  a 
sign  of  alarm  among  those  below,  unless  one  of  the 
hooked  ones  got  off  and  fell  back  among  his  fellows 
with  a  loud  splash,  and  with  blood  streaming  from 
his   gills.     Then    indeed    there   would   be   an   instant 
disappearance  of  the  whole  school,  only  sometimes  a 
quick  eye  could  catch  a  departing  leap  or  two  some 
distance  away.     That,  of  course,  was  due  to  the  smell 
of  blood,  or  whatever  sense  it  is  in  fish  which  takes 
the  place  of  smell,  apprehending  that  there  was  blood 
about.     Any   fish   thus   wounded   among   his   fellows 
in  the  deep  soa  has  no  suffering — he  is  torn  in  pieces 
and  devoured  instantly.     And  in  none  was  this  more 
noticeable  than  in  the  sharks,  for  whenever  one  met 
his  death  by  the  blow  of  a  blubber  spade,  which  was 
about  every  five  minutes,  while  we  were  cuttmg  in 
the  whale,  his  companions  fell  upon  him  and  tore  him 


A  Life  of  Peril 


207 


in  lr,ii;ments  before  he  had  time  to  sink,  and  instantly 
rcturiKd  to  their  furious  occupation  of  tearing  at  tlic 

''  'in   considering   the  hfe   of   the   Bonito,   we   must 
rtmember  that  we  are  descending  the  size  scale,  and 
tint  consequently  the  number  of  his  enemies  appre- 
ci  iblv  increase.     The  largest  Bonito  I  ever  saw  scaled 
onlv  twenty-eight  pounds,  and  I  feel  sure  that  he  was 
a  great  e>:ception  to  the  general  rule,  the  average  size 
being   eight   or   ten   pounds.     Owing    to   their   habit 
of  swimming  in  large  schools,  and  of  crowding  together 
as  if  for  m.utual  protection,  when  instinct  warns  them 
Ihat  enemies  are  about,  they  fall  a  comparatively  easy 
nicy  to  such  voracious  enem-es  as  the  grampus,  the 
albacore,  and  the  sword-hsh  (Xiphias),  while,  of  course, 
they   themselves   prey  quite   as    furiously   upon    the 
younger   members   of    their   own    family.      But    they 
mu~t  be  an  amazingly  prolific  fish,  judging  from  the 
enormous  schools  met  with  and  the  ease  with  which 
they  may  be  captured  by  their  enemies. 

As  to  their  place  of  origin,  there  is  perhaps  more 
mvstery  about  that  than  about  any  other  of  the  pelagic 
fish.     Whether  they  imitate  their  giant  relative,  the 
albacore,  and  make  periodical  visits  to  comparatively 
shallow  waters  in  order  to  spawn,  or  as  the  dolphin 
do,  deposit  their  ova  upon  and  among  floating  masses 
of  sea-weed,  is  a  point  not  easily  settled.     B-.t  two 
things  are  certain,  and  they  are,  that,  like  the  dolphin, 
the  Bonito  is  never  seen  near  land  except  that  be 
very  abrupt  in  its  rise  from  the  sea-bed,  like  St.  Helena, 
and  being  essentially  a  surface-fish    frequenting  the 
deei)cst  ocean  areas,  he  cannot  go  to  the  bottom  to 
si)awn.     And  when  we  have  stated  that,  we  have  ex- 
hausted our  knowledge  of  this  creature's  family  habits. 
I  have  caught  them  in  the  North  and  South  Atlantic, 


to 

cc 

1 

Ui 

.  1 

^ 

^ 

■**• 

> 

S-. 

<0' 

•«*: 

-J 

208 


The  Bonito 


ill  the  Indian  Ocean,  in  the  North  and  South  Pacific 
Ocean,  nearly  always  remote  from  any  land,  and 
I  have  many  times  noticed  the  female  roe  bursting 
ripe.  But  where  they  had  proposed  to  go  to  spawn 
was  always  a  j)roblem  far  beyond  my  ken,  or  abilitv 
to  elucidate.  Indeed,  there  is  a  great  deal  to  be  done 
for  oceanic  ichtliyology,  in  spite  of  the  wonderful 
work  of  the  American  Government  expedition  in  that 
direction.  It  has  accomplished  an  immense  amount 
of  valuable  work,  but  one  feels  that  only  the  fringe 
of  the  subject  has  yet  been  touched.  The  Natural 
History  of  the  sea  calls  for  the  unpaid  work  of  en- 
thusiastic amateurs  like  the  Prince  of  Monaco,  who, 
with  great  wealth  at  his  disposal,  refuses  to  waste 
his  life  in  the  idiotic  dissipations  of  European  capitals, 
choosing  rather  the  absorbingly  interesting  (and  much 
less  expensive)  pursuit  of  studying  the  deep-sea  fauna 
in  his  beautiful  yacht,  the  'Princess  Alice.' 

Even  the  study  of  so  essentially  a  surface-fish  as 
the  Bonito  is  attended  by  many  apparently  insur- 
mountable difficulties  ;  what  then  must  be  the  case 
with  fish  who  rarely,  if  ever,  rise  to  within  a  hundred 
fathoms  of  the  sea-surface  of  their  own  accord  ?  And 
then  one  of  the  greatest  incentives  to  close  investigation 
of  the  habits  of  any  creature  is  entirely  absent  in  the 
case  of  deep-sea  fish,  i.e.  that  of  commercial  gain. 
While  there  are  many  of  them,  and  especially  the  more 
accessible  ones,  fairly  good  eating,  they  flourish  remote 
from  markets  of  any  kind,  and  they  are  never  likely 
to  be  taken  in  an\  quanuty.  .Moreover,  they  take 
far  too  kindly  to  salt,  as  do  indeed  all  the  mackerel 
tribe.  American  salted  mackerel  is  a  tiling  of  horror 
to  most  of  us  who  like  salt  in  moderation.  To  my 
mind  it  tastes  like  solidified  brine,  with  a  flavour  of 
fish.     And  no  amount  of  soaking  or  parboiling  seems 


The  Fish  that  Won't  Keep     20g 


ranablo  of  modifying  to  any  appreciable  extent  its 
niali^iumt  salinity. 

Tlie  Bonito  is,  if  anything,  still  worse.  Mourn- 
fully do  I  remembLM-  how,  having  a  field  day  among 
i bonito  just  on  tlu'  northern  side  of  the  Equator  in 
tlic  Atlantic,  homeward  bound  in  a  very  slow  ship, 
thf  ^t.  ward  pr()p(^sed  that,  as  the  weather  was  quite 
M)ol.  he  should  be  allowed  to  salt  about  thirty  fine 
l>h.  or  in  the  neighbourhood  of  four  luuidred  pounds 
uviuht,  so  that  our  miserable  rations  of  putrid  beef 
in.l  pork  might  be  eked  out  in  a  httle  more  Christian 
fa^luon.  Tlie  idea  was  jumped  at,  and  I,  having 
considerable  experience  in  cleaning  fish,  spent  my 
watch  below  eviscerating  and  boning  the  fish  ready 
for  the  pickle. 

The  job  was  emmently  successful,  not  a  trace  of 
taiiit  appearing  in  the  pickled  fish.     In  high  glee  we 
welomed  the   first  mess  of  salted  Bonito,  but  alas, 
we  were  most  cruelly  disappointed.     Hungry  sailors 
iwn  eat   almost   anything,   but   that   terrible  fish  was 
Vnvnud  us.     It  Scarified  the  mouth  as  the  eating  of 
pure  .-alt  would  do,  al!  trace  of  fish  as  far  as  flavour 
was  concerned  seemed  to  have  fled,  and  yet  it  had 
been  steejied  all  night  and  parboiled  in  two  waters. 
X'aiious   schemes   were   tried,   such   as   soaking   it   in 
viiv  -ar,  drying  the  salt  out  of  it  in  the  sun  (when  it 
b.  came  like  a  piece  of  alabaster),  but  all  to  no  purpose. 
.\nd  most  tantalising  of  all,  it  retained  a  singularly 
av>neti.ing  smell.     The  whole  mass  was  dumped  over- 
1)    111,  nuich  to  the  gratification,  no  doubt,  of  a  school 
•  1  sharks,  which  was  following  us.     But  even  they, 
I  -hould  think,  must  have  wondered  what  the  new 
and  >tr!-,ge  food  was  which  they  had  gulped  down 
so  rea(l:l\-,  if,  as  is  soniewhal  doubtful,  the  shark  has 


ii 


illV   cil- 


i-:mination  in  matters  of  taste  at  all. 


14 


210 


The  Bonito 


The  flesh  of  the  tunny  or  albacore,  which  is  most 
closely  akin  to  that  of  the  Bonito,  is  treated  very 
sparingly  with  salt,  and  is  preserved  by  boiling  it 
in  oil  and  sealing  it  up  in  tins,  which  makes  it  a  delicacy 
that  keeps  for  an  indefinite  period.  No  doubt  if  tlie 
Bonito  could  be  caught  in  easily  accessible  positions, 
it  could  be  manipulated  in  the  same  sensible  way, 
and  might  become  an  article  of  considerable  com- 
mercial value.  But  of  that  there  is  not  the  slightest 
prospect,  so  that  the  Bonito  will  doubtless  be  left  to 
pursue  his  jovial  way  in  peace. 

Moreover,  there  is  no  blinking  the  fact  that,  in  spite 
of  the  bitter  cry  of  starving  multitudes  on  shore,  the 
incalculable  wea'!>  of  the  sea  in  food  largely  goes 
a-begging.  Only  let  the  fishermen  be  a  little  more 
than  ordinarily  successful,  and  immediately  our  souls 
are  saddened  by  reading  of  many  tons  of  succulent 
food  being  carted  away  for  manure,  or  left  upon  the 
shon  to  poison  the  pure  air  with  putrid  exhalations. 
Nay,  more,  there  are  not  wanting  many  grave  and 
specific  accusations  levelled  at  market  magnates,  who 
for  fear  of  a  lowering  in  price,  deliberately  prevent 
the  distribution  of  this  excellent  food,  thereby  com- 
mitting the  triple  crime  of  robbing  the  fisliermen  of 
their  due,  keeping  from  the  poor  their  food,  and  wasting 
the  precious  gifts  of  God.  It  is  a  terribly  sad  thing 
to  know,  and  sadder  still  perhaps  to  be  unable  to 
suggest  an  effective  cure  for  such  a  gigantic  evil.  And 
if  this  be  the  case  with  the  harvest  of  the  sea  so  easily 
garnered  near  shore,  how  much  more  is  there  the 
greatest  unlikelihood  of  any  new  fishery  being  opened 
up  farther  afield,  and  of  fish  that  will  not  keep  ? 

Bonito  are  found  wherever  albacore  and  dolphin 
are,  only  more  so.  For  instance,  they  appear  to  be 
more  enterprising,  readier  to  respond  to  the  slightest 


Deep'Sea  Swarms  21 1 

rise  in  the  temperature  of  the  water  outside  their 
u^ual  limits,  so  that  I  liave  caught  them  north  of  the 
fortv  degree  Une  and  ahnost  as  far  south  as  the  Cape 
of  (iood  Hope.  In  the  great,  wide  areas  of  lonehness 
to  l)e  found  in  the  Pacific  and  Indian  Oceans,  they 
are,  as  might  be  expected  from  their  habits,  very 
l'.,  ntiful,  but  I  think  tliat  the  largest  number  of  them 
I  have  ever  seen  at  one  time  was  in  the  South  Atlantic, 
w.U  east  of  St.  Helena  and  Ascension,  in  that  vast 
and  almost  unvisited  stretch  of  abysmal  ocean  known 
to  geographers  as  the  '  West  African  Basin,'  where 
tlie  deptli  varies  from  sixteen  to  eighteen  thousand 
fathoms,  and  the  sea  literally  swarms  with  life. 

On  the  eastern  verge  of  this  immense  depression 
the  south-east  Trades,  affected  by  the  proximity  of 
the  African  land,  fail  and  falter,  falling  almost  to  a 
calm.  Then  the  belated  ship,  alone  in  the  centre  of 
a  vast  expanse,  becomes  a  point  of  interest  to  the 
wandering  population  of  the  sea  who  visit  her  and  ex- 
hibit themselves  in  many  a  curious  evolution. 

Here,  where  no  sailing-ship  ever  ouglit  to  be  found, 
I  have  seen,  as  mentioned  in  the  opening  lines  of  this 
(h!i»ter,  the  Bonito  so  plentiiul  that  I  was  unable 
to  loi;k  in  any  given  direction  without  being  aware 
of  thousands  of  them  leaping  after  their  ever-abundant 
food.  And  at  night,  when  the  sea  was  lit  up  by  its 
natural  fires  of  pliospliorescence,  the  scene  was  ineffably 
grand,  the  mild  effulgence  being  stirred  continually 
into  bright  mazy  patterns  of  glowing  light,  while 
the  iiai)py  fish,  apparently  contemptuous  of  rest, 
came  and  went  on  their  ceaseless  errands. 

Here,  too,  we  witnessed  a  scene  that  impressed 
itself  upon  the  minds  of  everybody  on  board,  as  being 
past  all  their  experience.  It  was  at  high  noon,  with 
but  a  light  upper  air  stirring  the  sails,  and  wafting 


:^ 


■tSE 


-J    ^^ 
ii   ^ 


212 


The  Bonito 


the  old  brig  along  so  gently  over  the  glassy  sea,  which 
was  untoudied  by  the  descent  of  the  slightest  air,  that 
sitting  out  upon  the  jib-boom  end  one  could  look 
down  into  the  translucent  depths  as  through  a  pane 
of  glass,  and  watch  the  gambols  of  the  sea-creatures 
at  a  depth  of  several  fat)  nms. 

So  quiet  had  been  the  weather  for  several  days, 
and  so  little  did  the  passing  of  the  ship  disturb  the 
sea-folk  that  there  was  almost  as  great  a  variety 
around  us,  ranging  from  the  tiny  silvery  fry  playing 
hide  and  seek  among  the  deadly  fringes  of  the  mush- 
room-like Medusae,  to  the  mighty  albacore,  as  one 
would  have  expected  to  see  in  the  most  representative 
aquarium.  Only  that  here  there  was  no  suggestion 
of  bounds  to  that  vast  play  and  feeding  ground. 
Suddenly  there  came  from  the  fore-to'-gallant  yard 
a  cry  of  '  breakers  ahead,  sir.' 

'  What's  that  ?  '    sharply  queried  the  '  old  man.' 

The  man  repeated  his  information. 

'  Nonsense  !  '  angrily  snapped  the  skipper,  *  the 
nearest  land  ain't  less  than  three  hundred  mile  of?, 
and  chere  ain't  any  bottom  here  less  than  eighteen 
thousand  fathom.  Pop  up  aloft,  I\Ir.  Jones  (to  the 
mate)  an'  see  what  that  galoot's  a-gittin  off  his  chest.' 

Up  went  the  mate  on  the  instant,  taking  the 
glasses  with  him.  Presently  he  shouted  :  '  I  can't 
make  it  out,  sir  ;  it  looks  just  like  a  line  of  breakers 
extendin'  from  west  to  east,  as  far  as  I  can  see  with 
the  glasses.  But  it  ain't  breakers,  'cause  I  can  see 
nothin'  but  just  the  single  line,  and  beyond  it  the 
water's  smooth  as  'tis  here.  Looks  like  a  tide  rip, 
only  I  never  see  one  so  monstrous  as  that.' 

By  this  time  the  phenomenon,  whatever  it  was. 
had  arrived  within  a  mile  of  us,  and  was  evidently 
travelling  at  the  rate  of  about  six  miles  an  hour.    A 


A  Mysterious  Concourse     213 


,1.  op  roaring  as  of  the  distant  voice  of  many  waters 
was  heard,  gradually  growing  in  volume.  All  hands 
came  uncalled  on  deck,  and  watched  with  considerable 
anxiety  the  approach  of  this  uncanny  roll  of  white  ; 
It  drew  nearer  and  nearer,  until  presently  we  passed 
through  it  with  only  a  very  slight  motion  of  the  vessel, 
for  by  an  optical  illusion  it  appeared  a  great  deal 
hif^her  than  it  really  was.  The  width  of  the  line  of 
foam  was  about  sixty  feet,  and  in  it  could  be  seen  an 
amazing  variety  of  sea  debris,  while  it  also  seemed 
to  be  alive  with  fish  of  all  kinds. 

But  the  chief  wonder  was  a  few  cables'  length 
behind  the  strange  line  of  white.  It  proved  to  be 
on  nearer  inspection,  a  mass  of  land  vegetation  con- 
sisting of  several  huge  trees  ine.xtri.  ably  entangled 
bv  their  branches  and  snake-like  convolutions  of 
giant  creepers.  It  looked  like  a  floating  island,  but 
—all  alive.  So  wonderful  did  it  appear,  so  full  of 
movement,  that  a  boat  was  got  out  in  order  that  the 
skipper  might  go  and  examine  it,  and  while  I  live  I 
shall  never  forget  the  amazing  sight  it  presented  upon 
a  close  view. 

Long  before  we  got  to  it,  the  boat's  way  was  im- 
peded by  the  vast  numbers  of  Bonito  converging  upon 
it  and  making  the  sea  appear  as  thick  with  fish  as  it 
does  in  the  middle  of  a  herring  shoal.  We  pressed 
on,  however,  noticing  how  every  stroke  of  the  oars 
was  followed  by  a  crimson  stain  melting  into  brown, 
until  we  reached  the  central  mass.  It  was  so  densely 
crowded  with  fish,  large  and  small,  with  sea-snakes, 
with  crabs,  with  creatures  for  which  one  could  find 
no  name,  that  it  seemed  like  one  vast  mass  of  living, 
writhing  forms.  At  a  distance  one  could  see  the  shapes 
of  the  trees  and  their  interlocked  branches  ;  alongside 
all  seemed  alive. 


is 


Si 


214 


The  Bonito 


Now  there  was  not  tlio  slightest  suggestion  of 
danger;  for  the  >harks,  of  which  of  course  there  were 
many,  had  such  abundance  of  easily  gotten  food  about 
them  that  even  had  one  of  us  fallen  overboard,  I  do 
not  believe  wc  should  have  been  molested  at  all. 
But  in  the  presence  of  that  seething  mass  of  life,  all 
self-subsisting,  ever  devouring,  ever  unsatisfied  and 
inexhaustible,  a  positive  sense  of  fear  came  over  us 
all,  and  when  the  skipper  said:  'Stern,  boys,  and  let's 
get  out  o'  this,  I  don't  like  it,'  we  felt  that  he  had  aptly 
voiced  our  own  sentiments.  So  we  returned  to  the 
ship,  feeling  quite  relieved  to  get  on  board  again,  and 
place  something  more  substantial  between  us  and 
those  hungry  hordes  than  the  thin  shell  of  a  boat.  I 
know  it  was  foolish,  but  that  is  how  we  all  felt. 

One  peculiarity  of  the  Bonito  I  must  notice  with 
some  diflidence,  because  I  know  that  I  shall  hnd  myself 
in  opposition  to  naturalists  generally.     It  is  a  common- 
place that  a  fi>h  is  a  cold-blooded  animal,  and  it  is, 
generally  speaking,  true.     But  the  Bonito  has  blood 
as  warm  as  our  own,  and  I  know  it  experimentally. 
The  first  Bonito  I  ever  caught  was  when  I  was  barely 
fourteen,  and  -mall  for  my  age.     I  bestrode  the  flying- 
jib  and  locked  my  legs  inside  the  jib-guys  and  round 
the  boom-end.     Still  the  stout,  slippery,  chubby  form 
of  the  fish  (he  was  about  fifteen  pounds  weight),  aided 
by  his  extraordinary  vibrations,  made  it  impossible 
for  me  to  hold  him  by  cuddling  him  tightly  to  my 
bosom.     So  in  a  fit  of  desperation  I  jammed  my  fingers 
into  his  gills,   and   must,   I   suppose,   have  ruptured 
his  heart,  which  is  very  close  to  his  gills,  for  imme- 
diately a  miniature  torrent  of   hot  blood  flowed  all 
over  me,   much  of  it  running  down  my  bare  chest 
inside  of  my  shirt,  which  as  usual,  had  no  buttons  on 
the  front.     Then,  finding  my  strength  fast  going,  I 


Troubles  of  an  Observer      215 


hnn.lU-d  mv  prize  up  in  the  folds  of  the  tlying-jib. 
uhirh  was 'lying  loosely  furled  upon  the  bo(;m.  The 
St  ite  of  that  jib  when  hoisted  procured  mc  a  painful 
interview  with  the  bos'un,  which  I  do  not  care  to 
r.  call  and  my  positive  assertion  that  the  lisli's  blood 
was  warm  obtained  me  another  hiding  from  the  sail- 
in  ikcr,  for  what  he  called  contradicting. 

Singularly  enough,  such  frequent  disasters  at  these, 
consequent  upon  my  stating  what  I  had  discovered 
for  myself,  while  they  naturally  made  me  very  reticent 
in  the  presence  of  my  elders  on  all  debatable  subjects, 
have  had  the  effect  of  making  me  loth  to  state  my 
experiences  to  anybody  in  a  superior  or  autlioritative 
position-until  the  last  few  years,  when,  tired  of  feeling 
so  cowardly,  I  ventured  to  maintain  opinions  based 
upon  practical  knowledge  against  ideas  buiUlcd  upon 
theory.     After  that  unpleasant  day,  I  always  noticed 
how  warm  the  blood  of  a  Bonito  was,  but  have  only 
once  before  stated  it  in  print,  when  I  was  promptly 
taken  to  task  by  an  old  and  dear  friend,  a  shipmaster, 
who,  while  admitting  that  he  had  no  recollection  of 
ever  feeling  a  Bonito's  blood  in  his  life,  was  sure  that 
it  could  not  be  warm,  as  the  Bonito  was  undoubtedly 
a  fish,  and  all  fish  were  cold-blooded. 

The  Bonito  is  peculiarly  liable  to  the  attentions 
of  parasites,  both  internal  and  external.  I  do  not, 
therefore,  mean  to  hint  that  other  fish  have  none, 
only  I  have  not  been  able  to  see  them,  whereas  !n 
dissecting  a  Bonito  it  is  impossible  to  avoid  noticing 
them.  There  are  minute  hangers  on,  something 
like  tiny  limpets,  in  such  snug  places  as  behind  the 
pectoral  fins,  or  between  the  ventrals,  or  on  the  run 
of  the  fish,  where  the  body  slopes  away  rapidly  fmm 
its  central  fulness  to  the  fine  lines  of  the  tail.  The 
presence   of   these   may   account   for   the   apparently 


a 


2l6 


The  Bonito 


aimless    rvpendicular    leapings    of    the    fish,    n„ito 
different  from  his  dash  into  the  air  after  a  tlying-lish 
or  squid.     It   IS  easy  to  imagine  that   tlie   irritation 
caused    by    these    vermin    must    sometimes    become 
well-nigh  intolerable.     And  tl-^y  cling  so  tightly  that 
I   have  neve,    been  able  to  tear  one  off  the  freslilv 
caught  fish,  without  bringing  a  portion  of  skin  with  it 
Inside  the  mouth,  and  often  nestling  among  the 
branchiae  of  the  gills,  will  be  found  one  or  more  white 
crustaceans,    much    like   an    exaggerated    wood-louse 
but  not  so  flexible  in   the  body,   being  incapable  of 
rolling  themselves  up  in  a  ball  !     They  have  eight  or 
ten  hooked  legs,  by  means  of  which  they  attach  them- 
selves firmly  to  the  mouth,  or  throat,  or  gills  of  their 
host,  and  thenceforward  lead  a  pLu  id,  well-fed    and 
uneventful   existence   at   their   host's   expense,    bein.- 
apparently  quite  exempt  from   the  almost   universal 
law  of  eating  and  being  eaten  in  turn.     I  do  not  see 
what  can  ever  disturb  them  except  the  death  of  the 
fish.     When    that    happens    they    release    their    hold 
and  crawl  out  of  the  mouth  or  gill-openings,  seeking 
I  suppose,  a  fresh  host,  able  to  provide  for  their  need^' 
having  doubtless  realised   that   no  more  board  and 
lodging  is  to  be  expected  from  their  late  benefactor. 
In  like  manner  does  the  tenacious  clutch  of  the  outside 
parasite  become  relaxed,  and  he  falls  off  when  the  last 
quiver  of  the  flesh  has  ceased,  and  the  fish  is  dead. 

A  much  more  unpleasant  form  of  parasite  is  one 
which  burrows  into  the  muscular  tissue,  sometimes  in 
such  numbers  as  to  make  it  impossible  to  eat  the 
meat,  unless  the  eater  be  something  of  a  savage,  either 
from  hunger,  or  place  of  origin.  It  is  just  a  fat  white 
maggot,  not  so  well  formed  as  those  seen  in  fly-blown 
meat,  but  a  clumsy  grub,  which  slowly  eats  its  con- 
tented  wav  through  the  fish's  muscles,  leaving  behind 


The   Involuntary  Host        217 


,t  a  tube  to  show  how  it  has  bored  its  way  to  wliere 
;t  i>  found.  I  have  also  found  >cV(  ral  curious  hving 
tilings  in  the  Bonito's  maw,  but  have  never  been  able 
to  d^etcrmine  whether  they  were  regular  lodgers  or 
ju.t  visitors  in  the  ordinary  course,  but  being  possessed 
i,f  greater  vitality  than  the  other  creatures  upon  which 
the  fish  has  fed,  had  not  yet  succumbed  and  become 
subjrrt  to  the  digestive  process. 

A  very  instructive  study  is  that  of  the  contents 
of  the  stomachs  of  deep-sea  fish,  for  they  are  by  no 
mtMos  (as  might  be  supposed)  composed  of  merely 
llving-fish  and  squid.  There  are  often  to  be  found 
sniiU  fish  of  shape  quite  unknown  to  us  hitherto,  and 
O!  t.iinly  never  seen  by  sailors.  Fish,  we  must  assume, 
that  live  within  the  eater's  range  of  depth,  but  never 
come  to  the  surface  voluntarily. 

Of  the  many  services  rendered  by  Bonito  to  ship- 
\vr(  (ked  people  at  almost  the  last  gasp  for  want  of 
food,  there  is  no  need  to  speak  ;  it  will  be  at  once 
understood  that  so  plentiful,  sociable,  and  easily 
allured  a  fish  as  the  Bonito,  must  often  have  furnished 
a  meal  to  people  who  would  otherwise  have  star\  ed. 
And  no  one,  who  has  not  been  driven  to  it,  can  know 
liow  nice  a  Bonito  collop,  cut  off  the  quivering  body 
and  laid  upon  the  almost  scorching  wood  in  the  fu'l 
blaze  of  the  sun,  until  it  curls  up  and  turns  quite 
black,  can  taste.  Only  of  course,  it  presupposes 
strong  teeth  and  wolfish  hunger. 

There  is  a  sort  of  poor  relation  to  the  Bonito, 
yet  resembling  much  more  closely  the  great  albacore 
in  the  contour  of  its  body  and  the  arrangement  of  its 
fins,  to  which  sailors  have  given  the  trivial  name 
of  '  Skip-jack.'  Scientifically  it  is  termed  Thynnus 
sarda,  and  has  even  been  found  as  far  north  as  the 
mouth  of  the  Esk.     Only  one  specimen  though.    It 


3e 


2l8 


The  Bonito 


is  an  elepant  little  fish,  never  growing  heavier  than 
about  five  pounds,  and  exceedingly  succulent  as  to 
its  flesh,  which  is  much  superior  to  either  that  of 
bonito  or  albacore.  It  is  not  at  all  unlike  ihe  blue- 
fish  of  the  American  coast,  and  I  think  its  tlcsh  is 
superior  to  that,  highly  as  the  latter  seems  to  be 
esteemed  in  American  restaurants. 

Its  usual  range  of  habitat  is,  I  should  say,  co- 
oxtensivo  with  tli.it  of  tln'  bonito,  but  being  somewhat 
capricious  in  its  appearance  it  is  not  nearly  so  often 
seen.  It  has  earned  its  tri\ial  name  by  its  peculiar 
habit  (I  duing  rontiiiually  what  the  l)onito  only  does 
occasionally,  that  is,  making  short  vertical  leaps  into 
the  air  for  no  a[)parent  reason,  except  perhaps  joic 
de  vivrc.  It  is  a  pretty  and  at  the  same  time  a  peculiar 
sight  to  see  a  large  school  of  Skip-jack  all  busily 
springing  out  of  water,  as  if  their  very  existence 
depended  upon  their  doing  it  rapidly  and  regularly. 
They  feed  on  the  same  food  as  do  tlie  bonito,  but  I 
have  no  doubt  that  now  and  then  some  of  their  smaller 
members  fall  victims  to  the  hunger  of  the  larger 
bonito.  The  Skip-jack  and  the  bonito  do  not  associate, 
they  keep  well  clear  of  each  other,  as  do  all  the  different 
varieties  I  have  hitherto  named,  unless  one  is  chasing 
the  other  for  a  meal. 

They  are  by  no  means  beloved  by  sailors,  for  the 
simple  reason  that  unconsciously  they  are  very  tan- 
talising. Few  things  are  more  annoying  to  a  half- 
famished  crew  than  to  see,  on  some  deliglitfully  quiet 
afternoon,  t!ie  smiling  surface  of  the  sea  dotted  all 
over  with  circles  caused  by  the  upspringing  of  thousands 
of  succulent  fish,  not  one  of  whom  will  come  near 
enough  to  the  ship  to  be  tempted,  or  if  he  did  would 
be  persuaded  into  the  belief  that  a  bit  of  white  rag 
was  a  flymg-fish  or  squid. 


The  Unsociable  Skip- jack      219 

<;ori:il.ilitv.  in  the  sense  that  most  of  the  pelagic 
dr-p-sca  fish  "have  it,  they  do  not  possess,  and  although 
hr-e  numbers  of   them  are   often  seen  at   one   tune 
th"v    always    preserve    a    certain    individuality,    an 
,lnn(ness  from  each  other,  like  that  of  the  dolphin. 
.\,  to  accompanying  a  ship  in  the  same  way  that 
d.lphin,    albacore,    and   bonito   will    do,    in    varyii., 
dr-recs  of  closeness  of  course,  that   will  they  nevei. 
\nd   yet   they   may— who   knows— derive   some   sort 
'ni  satisfaction  from  being,  as  it  were,  within  hail  of 
!,  r     They  are,   more   than   any  of  the  true   pelagic 
i;-!,,  independent  v.-gabonds  of  the  sea,  roaming  each 
for  himself  whithersoever  they  list,  and  keeping  their 
family  haunts  enwrapped  in  deepest  mystery. 

I  remember  with  great  saitsfaction,  two  occasions  on 
svhich,  by  the  purest  accident,  I  succeeded  in  catching 
^kin-jack,  and  subsequently  examining  them  closely. 
I  may  say  in  passing,  that  they  were  the  only  Skip-jack 
I  ever  did  see  caught,  and  must  admit  that  the  capture 
was  almost   purely   accidental.     I   had   been   fishing 
f(.r  bonito  almost  unsuccessfully,  having  only  caught 
one,  and  the  sudden  tropical  twilight  fell  before  I  was 
aware  of  it.     But  the  evening  was  so  lovely,  the  dying 
tints  of  the  sunset  so  exquisitely  tender,  that  I  lingered 
on  my  quiet  perch,  loth  to  leave  the  contemplation 
of  so  much  peaceful  beauty.    The  line  hung  down 
almost  straight,  tne  bait  just  clear  of  the  water,  and 
occasionally  I   jerked  it  mechanically,  my  thoughts 
far  away.    Suddenly  I  felt  a  tug  at  it,  and  a  weight 
upon    it.     Instantly    called    to    present    realities,    I 
liauled  up  swiftly,  to  find  a  Skip-jack  upon  the  hook, 
a  fine  specimen  of  about  four  and  a  half  pounds,  at 
which  I  was  mightily  astonished,  as  were  my  shipmates 
when  I  took  him  into  the  forecastle  to  show  them. 
The  other  occasion  was  at  the  front  end  of  the 


4  ::£ 


220 


The  Bonito 


day,  as  a  French  chum  of  mine  user!  to  term  the 
dawn.  I  had  been  watcliing  some  stripes  of  hght 
in  the  water  alongside  and  ahead  before  daybreak, 
and  determined  that  I  wouM  put  in  th„  time  between 
daybreak  and  '  turn-to,'  six  o'clock,  seeing  whether 
I  could  not  invite  one  of  the  fish  causing  them,  to 
breakfast  with  me.  So,  hastily  swallowing  my  coffee, 
I  seized  my  line  and  ran  out  to  the  flying-boom  end, 
where  I  started  to  unroll  just  as  the  first  crimson 
streamers  in  the  sky  began  to  be  reflected  in  the  darkling 
bosom  of  the  deep.  The  moment  my  bait  touched 
the  water  it  was  seized,  and  by  another  Skip-jack, 
much  to  my  delight.  But  though  I  stayed  till  the 
last  minute  possible  before  'turn-to  '  and  forfeited 
my  well-beloved  smoke,  never  another  came  near 
enough  for  me  to  see  him,  ^uch  less  to  be  enticed 
on  to  my  hook.  So  I  feel  su  _  that  in  both  cases  my 
capture  was  due  to  pure  accident,  and  t'  't  ordinarily 
the  Ski{)-jack  does  not  come  close  enough  to  a  ship 
to  be  caught,  or  if  he  does,  fights  shy  of  any  lure  the 
fisherman  may  dangle  over  his  head. 


CHAPTER    XVII 


THE    FLYING-FISH 

T-HE  subject  of  this  chapter  is  undoubtedly  one  of 

T  the    most    interesting    in   the   long     -t  f    ^^^;_ 

^     great  fauna  of  the  sea.     ^'  ^^^'  ^''\'}^''\l'"^, 

;on  for  much  heated  discussion,  which  seems  to   be 

:^^Z^ ;  so-called  authorities  never  appe- ^^^^ 

a,ree  upon  the  much  vexed  ^^f^^'^" '^ ,  ^','^,bout  the 
rnnl     as  much  nonsense  has  been  ^^  ^  d  abo  t  the 
Flving-fish    as    about    the   wha^.    -d  ^^^^^ 
people  whose  position  m  the  '^''^'''''\^'\'l^^^,^^ 
Lplratively  demanded  of  them  — ;;^J  ^J ^'^^^ ^pon 
M 'cover,  there  has  been  more  ^ymp^thy  Nvasted  upon 
the  Flvinii-fi.h  than  upon    any  other   sea   ^^^eatum 
haul  lot  is  bewailed  because  that,  flec^jg  fi^om^^s 
nvmy  enemies  in   the  sea  and  -^^""g^i^^^^^^^btles; 
,t  IS  there  seized  by  hovering  ^^'^  '  f  ^^^^;^^^^ft 
-     ,rd   its   habit   of   flight  as  one  that   might  mosi 
;:h  Ltageovl^y  be  followed  by  all  the  other  small  fish 

•"t.:m  what  follows,  as  in  almost  allll^^^al^^^ 

,,.tton,  1  wish  it  to  be  clearly  "f  ^--^f  ^^^^  f/^^^ 
,.  .onal  observation  has  been  used  as  a  b-^J^^  ^^  '^^ 
l„narks  made,  and  consequently  I  am  ^^^  >  P^^^^^^^^^^ 

for  nuich  contradiction.     As  %^,-"^P^t-nown  creatt? 
thing  all  first-hand  observers  of  little-known  c  eatures 
."Mst  expect,  I  quote  an  experience  of  mine  six  years 
ago    ?had  wriUen  an  article  for  a  popular  magazine. 

221 


1 


la^ 


222 


The  Flying'fish 


in  which  I  casually  alluded  to  the  minor  fact  well- 
known  to  all  deep-water  sailors,  of  the  small  cuttle- 
fish or  Loligo  leaping  high  enough  to  be  carried  on 
board  during  rough  weather,  and  in  consequence 
often  being  found  upon  a  vessel's  decks.  Shortly 
afterwards  the  editor  forwarded  me  a  letter  from 
a  gentleman,  who  stated  that,  although  not  a  sailor, 
he  had  been  round  the  world  in  sailing  ships  six  or 
se^'en  times,  that  he  had  never  heard  of  the  '  leaping ' 
squid,  and  that  it  was  perfectly  ridiculous  to  say  tliat 
such  a  clumsy  creature  as  a  cuttle-fish  could  leap  on 
board  a  vessel.  Consequently  it  was  obvious  that 
I  was  knowingly  making  an  extraordinarily  idiotic 
misstatement,  etc.  To  which  I  replied  (to  the  editor 
only)  that  the  matter  was  one  that  could  be  tested 
any  day  by  asking  the  first  half  dozen  sailors  met 
with  at  Green's  Home,  or  any  similar  place,  and  that 
it  being  so  well-kno',vn  a  fact  to  all  seafarers,  I  did 
not  think  it  worth  while  to  answer  the  gentleman's 
letter. 

But  in  the  case  of  the  Flying-fish  I  readily  admit 
that  an  observer  may  have  an  honest  opinion  based 
upon  casual  observation,  or  misconstruction  of  terms. 
The  difference  between  leaping  and  flying  may  be 
narrowed  down  until  some  sort  of  an  agreement  be 
possible,  and  yet  neither  party  feel  that  they  have  been 
worsted  in  the  field  of  argument.  However,  I  must 
bring  the  Flying-fish  himself  forward.  As  in  the  case 
of  several  other  deep-sea  fish,  naturalists  have  been 
gradually  compelled  to  treat  ni'nor  differences  in 
individuals  as  accidental,  and  not  as  constituting 
differing  species,  until  at  last  they  have  most  sensibly 
reduced  the  Flying-fish  family  {Exocetus)  to  two 
species  :  E.  volitans  and  E.  nigricans. 

The  first  named,  and  the  smaller  of  the  two,  has  the 


His  Characteristic 


223 


..me  amazing  range  of  ocean  as  the  Bonito,  and  is 
inectcd  in  precisely  the  same  way  by  v.  arm  seasons, 
which  induce  it  to  Venture  farther  north  or  south  than 
U  normally  does,  according  to  the  time  of  the  year. 
Its  limit  of  size  is  about  twelve  inches  in  length  by 
four  inches   in   circumference   at    the    thickest   parts 
of  ti^c  body.     In  shape  it  is  exceedingly  like  a  grey 
mullet,  especially  as  regards  the  head;    the^hody  is 
perhaps   a    thought    squarer    than    a    mullets,    more 
like    hat  of  a  gar-fish.     In  colour  it  is  blue  on  the 
head  and  back,  silvery  on   the   abdomen,  and   it   is 
covered  with  scales  like  a  mullet  or  a  herring.     And 
herein  lies  one  of  its  great  claims  to  our  notice-that 
almost  alone  among  the  pelagic  deep-sea  fish,  it  has 
.,,^  ♦,,..  djahf^st  connection  with  the  great  mackerel 
hmiir being  indeed  much  more  allied  to  the  denizens 
of  shallow  seas  in  its  general  characteristics,  with  one 
exception,  and  that  is,  its  power  of  flight.      _ 

With  the  excention  of  the  pectorals  there  is  nothing 
remarkable  in  the  fins  of  the  Flying-fish  except  that 
the  lower  lobe  of  the  tail  is  half  as  long  agam  as  the 
upper.     But  the  pectoral  fins,  or  rather  wings,  are 
nearly  as  long  as  the  fish,  and  spread  at  their  widest 
to  full  three  inches.    When  the  fish  is  m  the  water 
thev  fold  with  great  neatness  into  the  s-de  of  the  body, 
which  at  the  thickest  part  is  slightly  grooved  to  receive 
them     When  the  impulse  comes  upon  the  fish  to  tly, 
thev  spring  into  the  air  in  a  diagonal  direction,  their 
wings  spreading  with  a  flash  as  they  leave  the  water. 
and  vibrating  with  such  rapidity  that  the  eye  cannot 
fulhnv  their  movements,  except  to  note  that  they  are 

vibrating.  ,   ., 

Now  it  is  obvious  that  if  this  manoeuvre  of  the 
fi.h  were  a  leap,  its  direction,  either  vertically  or  hon- 
zonlally.  could  not  change,  except  that  its  trajectory 


o 

■■^e:. 


.5?: 


224 


The  Flying'fish 


would  be  more  or  less  flattened  according  to  the 
distance  Ic  ipi'd.  That  much,  I  think,  will  be  admit  ed. 
Rut  if  we  see  the  lish  leave  the  water,  pursued,  say,  by 
an  albacore,  li\e  hundred  yards  on  the  starboard 
side  of  the  ship,  and  heading  towards  her,  perceiving 
the  great  obstacle  in  its  way,  change  its  course  to  one 
at  right  angles  to  its  original  direction,  we  ought  to 
assume  that  it  is  flying.  Ksjiecially  if,  as  constantly 
happens,  it  rises  at  tlie  same  time  twenty  feet  or  more 
in  the  air,  and  crossing  the  bows  turns  again  sharply 
in  a  new  direction. 

Nor  is  this  all,  for  I  have  repeatedly  seen  a  Flying- 
fish,  after  cl.anging  its  course  three  or  four  times  and 
its  elevation  more  frequently  than  that,  after  having 
flown  at  least  a  thousand  yards,  be  about  to  drop, 
apparently  exhausted,  into  the  sea.  But  at  that 
moment  the  gajnng  jaws  of  one  of  its  enemies  has 
protruded  from  the  water,  and  it  has  shot  vertically 
into  the  air  again  and  sped  away  in  yet  another  new- 
direction.  I  am  absolutely  convinced  that  the  only 
thing  that  compels  the  Exocctus  to  cease  its  flight 
is  the  drying  of  its  wing  membranes,  when,  of  course, 
the  vibration  would  split  them  to  shreds.  This, 
of  course,  does  limit  the  aerial  evolutions  of  the  Flying- 
fish  ;  but  I  have  repeatedly  seen  it  fly  in  varying 
directions  for  over  a  mile  without  once  touching  the 
wiiter. 

Now  the  Exocctus  does  not  fly  for  pleasure.  When- 
ever it  lea\es  the  water  it  is  in  a  state  of  alarm,  it  is 
seeking  safety  from  some  of  its  numberless  enemies,  or 
it  is  disturbed  by  the  passing  near  it  of  a  ship's  keel. 
'1  here  are  few  prettier  sights  to  be  seen  at  sea  than 
is  visible  when,  on  a  fairly  calm  night,  with  the  smooth 
water  highly  phosphorescent,  a  school  of  Flying-fish 
are  disturbed.     Like  a  galaxy  of  meteors    they  may 


Rapipity  of  light  223 

be  seen   streaming  along  very  swiftly  just   beneath 
the    surface,    each   leaving    behind    it   a   broadening 
track  of  light,  until,  as  if  at  one  impulse,  the  whole 
coinpanv  suddenly  leave  the  water,  the  points  of  their 
luultitudmous  exit  gleaming  in  tiny  showers  of  diamond 
,j,ray.     But  sometimes  in  the  dark,  bewildered,  they 
t  ikc  the  wrong  direction,  and  may  be  heard  striking 
the  ship's  side  with  a  series  of  sounds  like  hammer 
taps,  and  occasionally  a  straggler,  Hying  higher  than 
th,"  rest,  strikes  against  a  mast  or  a  sail  and  falls  on 
iloik  dead.     I  have  sometimes  seen  blood  and  scales 
on  a  lowermast  about   twenty  feet   above  the  deck 
proving  not  only   the  height  to  which  the  fish  had 
riM'n    but  the  impetuous  velocity  of  its  flight.     And 
it  i.  quite  a  usual  thing  to  find  Flying-fish  (where  there 
1,  no  cat  on  board)  in  the  morning  lying  on  deck,  with 
f.'ir  h.^ads  battered  into  shapelessness  by  the  force 
„i  their  impact  against  some  solid  part  of  the  ship. 
l',.or  puss,  however,  whose  lot  on  board  ship  is  always 
a  r.ither  rugged  one,  learns  with  amazing  swiftness 
that  fresh  fish  are  occasionally  to  be   found  in  obscure 
corners  about  the  decks  at  night,  and  when  she  does, 
NL-rv  few  of  these  succulent  morsels  find  their  way  into 

human  mouths. 

The  strangest  instance,  proving  the  velocity  of  a 
Flving-fish  through  the  air,  which  ever  came  under 
mv  notice  was  on  board  of  the  barque  '  West  York 
in'the  North  Atlantic,  homeward  bound  from  Portland, 
Orc-on.     It  was  a  lovely  night,  and  with  a  favouring 
brecxe  the  vessel  was  making  about  five  knots  an  hour. 
Kt.  ping  the  look-out  upon  the  smaU  deck  forward, 
un>^h  is  known    as    the    top-gaUant    forecastle,  wa^ 
a  loutish  A.B.,  who  from  his  lazinc>s  stupidity,  and 
uucleanness,  was  no  favourite  on  board,  all  the  rest 
of  the   chaps   being    pretty   smart.     He   was   sittmg 

15 


i* 


is. 


-  ^ 


226 


The  Flying'fish 


upon  the  capstan  when  last  I  saw  him,  do/ing,  I  believe, 
from  the  position  of  his  head.  Suddenly,  as  the 
watch  below  and  the  unoccupied  portion  of  the  watch 
on  deck  were  chatting,  prior  to  the  former  '  turning 
in,'  '  Cockney '  rushed  into  the  forecastle  howling 
like  a  spanked  brat,  and  holding  both  hands  to  the 
side  of  his  face,  from  which  the  blood  was  trickling 
through  his  fingers.  He  caused  quite  a  sensation 
amongst  us,  for  it  looked  as  if  he  had  been  seriously 
assaulted,  and  he,  as  soon  as  he  could  speak,  plainly 
declared  that  he  had  been,  by  the  skipper's  son, 
who  was  second  mate.  He  said  that  he  was  looking 
out  on  the  starboard  bow,  when  the  second  mate  came 
up  behind  him  and  struck  him  so  heavy  a  blow  with 
his  fist  that  it  knocked  him  off  the  capstan. 

As  soon  as  he  had  recovered  he  rushed  in  to  tell 
us,  and  he  expected  us  to  go  aft  immediately  and 
make  a  row  about  it.  But  while  he  was  thus  expending 
himself  I  examined  his  temple,  finding  indeed  the  marks 
of  a  very  heav}  blow,  blood  and  bruised  flesh,  and 
also  two  or  three  fish-scales  !  Saying  to  my  ship- 
mates, '  Hold  on  a  minute,'  I  nished  up  on  to  the 
forecastle  head,  and  sure  enough,  underneath  one 
of  the  stowed  anchors,  beside  the  cat-tail,  I  found  the 
aggressor,  a  splendid  Flying-fish,  about  a  pound  and 
a  half  in  weight,  with  its  head  almost  driven  into  its 
body.  And,  as  a  salve  for  his  grievous  wound,  I  gave 
it  to  the  '  Cockney  '  for  his  breakfast. 

In  order  that  the  Exocdus  may  indulge  easily  in 
these  aerial  excursions,  it  is  provided  with  a  very 
much  enlarged  swim-bladder,  which,  when  inflated, 
fills  the  whole  cavity  of  the  abdomen.  There  is  also 
in  the  mouth  another  bladder,  which  is  filled  with 
air  through  the  gilL,  aad  both  these  inflations  are 
performed  automatically  at  the  moment  the  fish  leaves 


Domestic  Haunts  of  Exocetus   227 

t  water.  The  bladders,  of  course,  are  kept  fuU 
..1  lir  wliile  the  fi^h  is  on  the  wing,  but  the  mom-nt 
•t  touches  the  water  they  are  deflated,  allowing  the 
■Ml  to  plunge  as  rapidly  as  it  wishes  to  the  hmit  of 
t.  depth,  which  is  not  ver\  great.  These  bladders 
are  an  e.xcellent  substitute  for  the  air  cells  within  the 
lones  of  birds,  and  make  of  the  fish  a  veritable  biid 
v.hilc  on  the  wing. 

The  spawning  place  of  the  Exodus,  in  the  North 
Atlantic,  at  any  rate,  is  among  the  floating  weed  in 
thf  Sargasso  Sea,  the  breeding  pi. ice  of  so  many  sea 
Jcni/cns.     Here    I    have    often    bcen    masses    of    ova 
laruc  enougli  to  All  a  flour-barrel,  and  looking  exactly 
like  bunches  of  white  currants,  colour,  size,  and  trans- 
parency all  lending  themselves  to  the  iUusion.     No 
J  ubt  whatever  can  attach  to  this  statement,  because 
t:.e  tiny  fry  with  the  yelk  fastened  to  it  still  by  the 
.nihihcus  were  also  often  hauled  up,  and  even  tc  the 
;..kcd  eye  were  recognisable  at  that  early  stage  as 
1-lying-fish.    But  I  am.  quite  conscious  that  the  question 
. if 'tliL^ breeding-places  of  the  Indian  Ocean  and  Pacific 
Flving-hsh  is  still  a  moot  point.     No  ine  can  imagine 
tbe  Flying-fish  migrating  such  vast  d.  tances  as  would 
be  necessary  if  all  of  them  bred  in  the  North  Atlantic. 
I  should,  however,  suppose  that  they  find,  in  all  oceans, 
.uLraarine  forests  of  seaweed  in  the  immediate  vicinity 
)f  hteep-to  land  where   they  can   spawn,   and  amid 
whose  dim  intricacies  their  young  descendants  may 
ix-  reasonably  safe  from  the  majority  of  their  enemies. 
This  sheltering  of  young  fry  is  undoubtedly  one  of 
th.'  chief  ends,  if  not  the  chief  end,  subserved  by  sea- 
uced  all  around  the  world.     Without  such  shelter  it 
i^  liard  to  imagine  how  any  of  the  helpless  fry  would 
Mirvive  the  attacks  of  their  countless  voracious  enemies, 
tlie  worst,  perhaps,  being  their  own  relatives. 


•-•^ 


:3 


'^^■■■^''^^-»-^^^-  '--^'CXP^^- 


228 


The  Flying'fish 


The  Flying-fisli  is  probably  one  of  the  most  prolific 
of  all  fish,  not  even  excepting  the  herring.  For  it 
must  be  remembered  that  it  is  the  staple  food  of  all 
the  larger  pelagic  fish,  albacore,  dolphin,  bonito,  and 
skip-jack,  while  undoubtedly  it  preys  upon  its  own 
species  more  ravenously  than  do  the  strangers.  I  have 
caught  a  Flying-fish  with  another  nearly  half  its  own 
size  jammed  in  its  throat,  and  the  greedy  rascal  had 
eleven  smaller  ones,  ranging  from  one  to  three  inches 
long,  distending  its  maw.  This  fact  of  its  exceeding 
voracity  soon  modified  my  feelings  of  compassion 
towards  it.  Like  most  people,  I  fi-.lt  sorry  for  the  poor 
persecuted  fish,  which  appeared  to  know  no  moment 
of  security,  whose  life  was  one  long  series  of  hair- 
breadth escapes  ;  indeed,  I  often  wondered  how  it 
was  that  any  escaped  at  all.  For,  the  attack  of  the 
dolphin,  for  instance,  always  seemed  to  me  unerring. 
I  never  saw  a  Flying-fish  missed  by  a  dolphin,  often 
as  I  have  seen  them  chased,  and  numberless  times 
have  I  seen  the  graceful  sea-birds  swoop  down  into 
the  midst  of  the  fieeing  school  and  take  easy  toll  of 
them  while  on  the  wing.  But  when  I  saw  how  ruthless 
they  were  themselves,  and  also  how,  in  spite  of  the 
amazing  numbers  eaten  by  the  larger  fish  and  birds, 
there  never  seemed  to  be  any  diminution  in  the  quan- 
tity of  those  remaining,  I  ceased  to  criticise  the  ar- 
rangements of  the  Creator,  and  reassured  myself 
that  the  Flying-fish  was  as  perfectly  happy  and  as 
well  provided  for  r>s  are  all  the  rest  of  His  creatures. 

The  other  species  of  Flying-fish,  which  I  have  not 
yet  alluded  to  at  length,  E.  nigricans,  is  quite  an 
imposing  fish.  He  has  two  pairs  of  wings,  the  ventrals 
being  extend  d  like  the  pectorals,  only  of  course, 
less  so.  It  la  a  handsome,  if  sombre-looking  fish, 
its  markings  being  black  and  silver  instead  of  blue 


;»j'^>^^-^^^j 


The  *GuIneaman'  2  2g 

.rnl  uliitc,  wl.ilc  its  fins  are  also  black,  with  a  trans- 
V,  iM^  band  of  silver.     I  feci  some  little  hesitation  in 
MH  ikiHL'  of  the  principal  luie  of  this  fish  as  black, 
b,..  nisc  it  is  by  no  means  a  jet  black,  or  even  an  ink 
bhrk      But   it   certainly   cannot   be   called   anything 
,1-,.  but  black,  since  it  is  neither  very  dark  blue  nor 
d.rp  brown.     It  is  really  a  dull  black,  almost  rusty. 
but  of  course  when  it  is  wet  it  is  brightened  somewhat. 
It  grows  to  a  length  of  twenty  inches,  and  a  weight 
of  over  three  pounds,  but  it  is  very  seldom  seen  of 
those   dimensions   by   sailors.     I   believe   its   habitat 
to  be  but  a  small  strip  (comparatively  speaking)  ot 
the  North  Atlantic,  and  I  know   that  when   one  is 
cm 'ht  at  Barbadoes,  the  irrepressible  negroes  always 
allude  to  it  affectionately  as  '  ole  Guincaman,'  showing 
their  belief  in  its  origin  being  the   Gulf  of  Guinea. 
Whether  that  is  so  I  do  not  know,  having  never  been 
there   and  not  being  able  to  find  any  allusions  to  the 
matter  in  books  of  Natural  History,  which,  indet^, 
contain   very   little   reliable    information   about    the 
habits    etc.,   of   deep-sea  fish,   however   minute   the 
anatomical  details  they  may  afford  about  specimens 
Nvhich  have  been  captured,   preserved  and  brought 

home. 

There  is  a  deeply  rooted  notion  among  seamen, 
from  whence  arising  nobody  seems  to  know,  that 
in  various  parts  of  the  world,  regular  fisheries  of  the 
Fxocdus  are  carried  on,  but  in  a  most  peculiar  manner. 
It  is  assumed  that  a  glare  of  light  is  an  attraction 
irresistible  to  the  Flying-fish,  and,  in  consequence, 
this  failing  of  his  is  made  use  of  to  lure  him  to  de- 
>truction.  Boats  go  out  at  night,  the  darker  the 
In  tter,  propelled  by  paddles,  as  being  the  most  noiseless 
m.thod,  and  having  a  net  set  like  a  sail  upon  a  yard 
hoisted  upon  the  usual  mast,  with  its  foot  also  spread 


::3 

'•it 


■«ar; 


^■■^ 


230 


The   Flying  fish 


Pi:^^ 


out.  A  lantern  is  hoisted  to  tho  middlo  of  this  net, 
at  the  sight  of  wliich  the  fish  lly  towards  it,  strik'^ 
the  net  and  fall  down  into  the  boat.  It  is  therefore 
considered  to  be  the  easiest  form  of  fishing  knr  vn 
Unfortunately,  in  spite  of  the  precise  details  of  tlii= 
description  and  the  niattei-of-f  ict  way  it  •'-,  or  u  d 
to  be,  regularly  told  to  the  young  deep-\s  or  sailor, 
it  is  nothing  but  a  yarn.  No  such  fishery  is  c  irri(  d 
on  anywhere,  nor  has  ever  been,  although  I  do  not 
doubt  that  every  retailer  of  the  story  believe  =;  it. 
There  is,  however,  a  regular  Flyin"-fish  fishery  carried 
on  at  one  place  in  the  world,  and  only  one,  systcmiti- 
cally.  Such  few  instances  of  Flyin!;'-fish  being  caught 
among  some  of  the  South  Sea  Islands  ''o  not  count. 
as  they  are  more  or  less  accidental  and  not  at  all 
planned  out. 

At  the  beautiful  island  of  Barbadoc?  in  the  West 
Indies  there  has  been  establish-^d  fi  '  over  a  ecu  tun,' 
a  regular  Exocctus  fishery,  which  is  carried  on  all  the 
year  round,  with  great  average  success.  It  furnishes 
the  inhabitants  of  Bridgetown  and  Spcightstown 
and  the  coast  villages  with  th(  ir  staple  food  ;  in 
fact,  it  is  often  said  in  jest  that  the  'Badians  do  not 
feel  fed  unless  they  have  Flying-fish  with  every  meal. 
It  is  almost  universally  cooked  in  the  same  way,  that 
is,  the  bones  are  removed,  and  the  fish  not  fried  or 
boiled,  but  sautS  in  gravy — not  nearlj'  so  pleasant  a 
method,  in  my  opinion,  as  grilling  or  frying.  But 
that  is  purelv  a  matter  of  taste.  The  price  fluctuates 
much,  according  to  the  catch,  but  happily  there  is  no 
'  ring '  in  Bridgetown  market.  If  the  boats  all  return 
loaded  to  the  gunwale,  as  they  sometimes  do,  the 
price  falls  at  once  so  low  that  the  very  poorest  negro 
can  get  a  meal  for  half  a  dozen  hungry  people  for  a 
tup,  three  halfpence,  while  next  day  the  same  money 


The  Barbadoes  Fishery       231 

.  „t^  Qo  rlosc  to  t!ic  island  shores, 
'"rh^  method  pursued  in  this  hshery  is  even  more 

•    ^ 0  tlnn  that  dc    ribcd  in  the  yam  already  given. 
.niM  'c  than  tnai  m  ^^  ^^  j^^^^p^ 

":;etLTet":  dtmclr,  o.  about  haU-inch  .n.sh. 

-(.me  three  uxi  m  *  u,„'  tn  them    two  or  three 

•:;?„;ro/;"rlSyfor'^Jb,er'f.s,.  and  a  se. 

IT    ''"^urd^-rked'    aTw' Flying-fish  kept  from 

the  rreviou?   days  <:»«.';J"^'^         .        „„inped,  the 
,„  odour  ana  conng  with  °'';^/^f  J'^^"^^  „„  the 

bon.s  put  forth  just  b^^  ™ne  rly  so     More  tor- 
A  ^4-  tViP  time  of  calm  or  ne.  uy  3"- 

""upon   leaving   the   harbour   the  boats  make   aU 
po^^bTe  sp«d  to  a  distance  of  about  three  nules  off 


-J 


3^ 


>?i*v.yv^^^    _^-^m. 


232 


The   Flying'fish 


the  land,  where  tlie  water  is  tlie  intense  bhie  of  mid- 
ocean.  Having  arrived,  the  peak  oi  the  sail  is  dropped 
and  the  tack  hoisted;  in  sea  p;  rhince,  the  sail  is  '  scan- 
dalised,' and  the  boat  allowed  to  drift.  By  this  time 
the  gorgeous  tropical  sunrise  is  unfolding  its  ineffable 
glories,  and  great  splashes  of  radiant  hue  appear  and 
disappear  upon  the  placid  face  of  the  sea.  But  the 
fishermen  have  no  eyes  for  celestial  beauty  now. 
Bending  over  the  side  they  knead  and  squeeze  the 
semi-putrid  bait  in  the  water  until  it  is  broken  up  into 
minute  fragments,  which  sink  very  slowly,  and  the 
exuding  oil  glazes  the  sea-surface  until  it  is  like  looking 
down  through  a  plate  of  clear  glass. 

Presently  a  few  swiftly  moving  specks  appear 
beneath.  They  increase  in  number  rapidly,  until 
the  vast  depth  seems  alive  with  them,  oftentimes 
appearing  just  a  mass  of  fish.  Grasping  the  hoops 
of  their  nets  on  each  side,  the  fishermen  lean  as  far 
over  the  boat's  gunwale  as  may  be,  and  with  the 
utmost  caution  to  make  :  o  sound,  pass  the  lower 
ed^es  of  the  nets  into  the  water  as  far  out  as  they  can 
reach.  They  press  them  downwards  and  draw  them 
inwards,  at  the  same  time  lifting  tiicm  with  their 
inner  edges  touching  the  side  of  the  boat  until  they 
can  pour  their  load  of  Flying-fish  into  her  hold. 

If  the  school  be  large  and  the  work  skilfully  done, 
it  is  not  uncommon  for  the  boat  to  be  loaded  in  an 
hour  from  one  school,  without  appreciably  diminishing 
its  n?'.mbers.  But  it  is  exhausting  work,  and  exciting 
withal,  so  that  it  often  happens  that  an  incautious 
move  is  made,  a  slight  noise  produced,  and  with  one 
great  flash  of  innumerable  turning  silver  bellies,  all 
close  together,  the  school  has  disappeared.  This  may 
occur  a  dozen  times  in  the  course  of  the  morning, 
or  say  from  six  o'clock  until  nine,  the  fish  being  so 


Good  Sport 


233 


nnn.crons  and  so  very  timid.  Or  it  -y  be  that  for 
.„ne  unaccountable  reason  scarcely  any  fish  are  seen, 
\m\  the  fleet  has  to  return  practically  emp  y.  _ 

'     Hu    the  most  usual  form  of  scare  for  the  f^sh  b 
the   appearance   of   some   of   their   natural   enem.e 
b  utl    aibacore.  or  dolplun.     Then  the  nets  are  p« 
'uav    the  lines  are  unrolled,  and  some  rea    sport  is 
i  dged  in.  which,  pace  those  lovers  of  h,gh  anghng 
Tlo  cannot  see  any  fun  in  fishmg  except  w  th  a 
d     nd  who  glory  in  beguiling  the  -^'^^^     IZ 
In  by  means  of  a  rod  and  line  no  tlncker    nan 
ord  nary  grocers'  twine,  has  much  to  recommend  it  to 
pople  whose  chief  aim  is  to  earn  a  hvmg.  but  who 
r.ve  no  earthly  objection  to  a  little  sport  thrown  in. 
X  d  so   taking  it  all  round,  this  old-fashioned  fishery 
0  one  if  the  Lst  known,  least  understood  sea  peope 
in  the  ocean,  goes  merrily  on  m  a  ^^^f^^'^^y^^^ 
co^sful  way.  supplying  th^  islanders  with  a«  ab^"f^'^;; 
of  wholesome  food  of  high  quality  at  nomina    cost 
as  a  rule.    For  the  average  price  is   or  used  to  be. 
about  four  or  five  a  penny,  each  as  large  as  a  good- 
sized   herring.    Guineamen.   of   course,    fetch   more. 
but  thev  are  very  seldom  caught.  ,       .  j       j 

Sly  because  Barbadoes  is  so  far  *o  windward 
tl  Jthese  Wsea  loving  fish  do  not  ^ear  to  frequen 
it,  it  has  a  monopoly  of  the  fishery  none  of   be  other 
is  ands  seeming  to  care  for  establishing  a  snnilar  en  er- 
prise     I  am  inclined  to  think  that  from  its  position, 
^"Slated  and  far  out  in  the  Atlantic,  also  its  steep^ 
shores,  the  Exocctus  has  come  to  regard  Barbadoes 
very  much  in  the  light  of  a  ship  which  they  can  w.th 
safety  approach  quite  near  to.     Certainly  I  know  of 
no  other'Lnd  or  mainland  in  the  world  where  Flymg- 
f;4i  are  found  in  such  abundance  at  so  reasonable  a 
distance.    Not  even  Ascension  or  St.  Helena,  although 


is- 


^ 

^ 


Ttssfii^sm 


234 


The  Fiyfng'flsh 


])otli  are  in  tlio  lirMit  of  Flying-fish  territory,  and  both 
aro  proatly  frociuinted  by  all  those  larger  fish  which 
fid  on  the  Exocctiis.  iJarbadrcs  alone  possesses  the 
facilities  for  catching  them,  and  the  requisite  energy 
to  do  so. 

Flying-fish  are  also  found  in  the  Mediterranean, 
but  not  in  any  great  numbers.  Also  in  the  Red  Sea 
and  Per<rian  Gulf  thry  are  to  be  seen,  but  they  are 
by  no  means  plentiful.  It  would  really  seem  as  if 
the  Flying-fish  feels  that  nothing  but  the  widest 
breadths  of  ocean  give  him  ample  verge  and  room 
eno.igh,  so  that,  although  he  is  tempted  occasionally 
into  the  narrow  .seas,  he  never  feels  at  home  there, 
and  is  anxious  to  get  out  to  the  vast  pla\-ing-ground3 
of  old  ocean.  There,  in  spite  of  the  hosts  of  his  enemies, 
he  leads  a  life  of  perfect  freedom,  his  numbers,  despite 
the  ama;^ing  tax  upon  them,  apparently  never  de- 
creasing. But,  as  with  all  the  other  fish  I  have  dealt 
with,  he  cannot  be  studied,  his  society  cannot  be 
enjoyed  from  the  deck  of  the  swift  steamer.  It  is 
necessary  to  be  in  a  leisurely  sailing  ship  to  realise, 
fir^t,  what  the  Flying-fish  is ;  secondly,  what  he 
is  capable  of  performing  in  the  way  of  flight ;  and 
thirdly,  how  vast  are  his  numbers. 

Very  vividly  come  to  my  mind  the  many  occasions 
when  I  have  seen  mor^  than  a  square  mile  of  smooth 
sca-surfa.ce  suddenly  broken  into  foam  by  the  upheaval 
of  myriads  of  Fl\ing-fish,  who  sped  through  the  lucent 
air  like  an  undulating  wave  of  molten  silver,  a.id 
with  a  musical  murmur  like  the  hum  of  far-off  bees. 
How  often  have  ihese  wonderful  little  fish,  like  the 
bonito,  coiue  just  in  time  to  save  precious  lives  adrift 
in  boats  )r  on  rafts  i  When  all  hope  has  fled,  the 
'ast  crumb,  tne  last  drop  has  been  expended,  there 
has  fallen  into  the  midst  of  the  perishing  ones  these 


i5» 


Wi:    SI:k\     PMH    SKASrUFACK   SrPDKM.Y    HKOKKN 
IXTO    FOAM    HY    MVKIADS   OF   Fl. YIN'C  Fi  SH. 


■'£W- 


Bizarre  Flying-Fish  235 


surrulont  morsels,  as  if  dropped  from  heaven.  It  is 
d.r.il.'ful  whether,  of  all  the  sea-people  who  do  their 
bost  to  show  the  sailor  the  infinite  populousncss  of 
the  sea,  there  are  any  for  which  he  feels  a  greater 
r.  -ird  than  he  docs  for  the  Flying-fish  ;  although, 
of  course,  it  grieves  him  to  think  that,  owing  to  cir- 
cumstances over  which  neither  of  them  can  exercise 
any  control,  he  does  not  see  as  much  of  his  little  friend 
at  table  as  he  would  dearly  like  to. 

Under  the  head  of  Flying-fish  I  must  treat  of 
anotlicr  interesting  denizen  of  the  deep  sea,  which 
is  in  very  truth  a  Flying-fish,  if  far  inferior  in  powers 
of  aerial  locomotion  to  the  Exocctns.  Two  species 
of  tills  strangely  built,  but  exceedingly  pretty  fish 
as  rigards  colour,  arp  quite  familiar  to  dwellers  in  our 
own ''towns,   being   often    seen   on   the   fishmongers' 

slabs. 

The  first  is  the  Red  Gurnard  {Trigla  cuculiis),  so 
called  as  to  the  second  half  of  its  pedantic  title,  be- 
cause it  emits  a  sound  when  captured  much  like  a 
curkoo.  But  it  certainly  is  not  fair  to  call  it  a  deep-sea 
fish,  since  it  is  only  found  in  comparatively  shallow 
waters,  on  the  bottom,  where  it  feeds  on  Crustacea. 
It  is  abundant  on  our  coasts,  and  in  consequence  of 
its  cheapness,  is  not  thought  nearly  as  much  of  as  the 
excellence  of  its  flesh  entitles  it  to  be. 

The  second  is  the  Sapphirine  Gurnard  {Trigla 
hirinhh),  as  quaint  in  appearance  as  the  first,  but 
even  more  beautiful  as  regards  colour,  a  quantity  of 
blue  being  interspersed  with  its  deep  red. 

Now  between  these  two,  common  as  they  are  in 
our  waters,  there  is  one  essential  difference ;  the 
second  is  a  '  flying-fish,'  tlie  first  is  not.  The  first, 
as  any  one  may  test  for  himself,  at  a  good  fishmonger's, 
has  its  beautiful  fins  quite  normal  in  size,  the  second 


C3- 

3 


■•■i^ 


236 


The  Flying'fish 


has  the  pectorals  greatly  Icng'hciird.  enabling  it  to 
skim  al  ng  the  sea  surface  fur  quite  tlinty  <  -  forty 
fei  t.  But  this  is  evidently  only  a  prolonged  leap, 
making  of  the  outspread  pectoral  fins  a  sort  of  para- 
chute to  buoy  them  up.  Again  n  inspection  of  tJK^-e 
fish,  which  may  often  be  made  at  the  f  hmor  •>  r's, 
will  at  once  show  this,  the  weight  of  tlu  m  running 
up  as  high  as  five  pound-;,  and  the  comparatively 
small  area  of  the  pect  rJ  fins  forbi'^ling  the  idea  of 
flight,  in  the  commonly  acct  pted    cnse. 

There  are,  however,  two  otlicr  species,  Dae '-Hop- 
terns  rolitans  and  D  Orio:  'lis,  whicli  ajiproach  mu' h 
more  nearly  to  the  idea  ot  lTuc  fiigi.i,  al* hough  even 
they  never  pt'rform  the  feats  w .  ich  the  Exocdus  is 
capable  of.  The  first  is  nimmon  in  the  Mediterranean 
Sea,  where  it  affords  abundant  sport  to  the  homeward 
bound  tunny  or  albacore.  .  ait,  from  a  cu-  -ory  glance 
at  this  Gurnard,  one  is  compelled  to  wonder  of  what 
material  the  fish's  throat  mu.-t  be  lined,  who  ventures  to 
swallow  him.  His  licad  is  armed  with  bony  plates,  whose 
edges  are  spiky  and  ra/or-sharp,  his  back  is  liberahy 
furnished  with  dorsal  spiiies,  the  anterior  ones  very 
long  and  sharp  as  a  cambric  needle,  and  even  his  sides 
bristle  with  keen-edged  or  pointed  weapons.  His 
armament  therefore  is  such  as  to  make  him  a  most 
dangerous  fish  to  handle,  and  the  fact  that  he  can  be 
swallowed  by  albacore  and  bonito  without  inflicting 
any  deadly  injury  upon  them  would  seem  to  argue, 
first,  that  their  throats  must  be  armour-clad,  and 
secondly,  that  digestion  is  with  them  a  very  powerful 
function. 

The  colours  of  these  curious  fish  are  very  diversified. 
Brown,  red,  pink,  gioy,  black,  and  blue  are  distributed 
over  its  body  in  tasteful  markings,  and  when  observed 
closely  during  its  llight  in  the  sunshine,  the  effect  is 


A  Splendid  Fellow  237 

v,rv  pk-.sing,  all  the  colours  being  rich  and  bright 
.      husc   upo,     a  buttcrily,   and   further   accentuated 
I  .      -ng  vve't  and  shiny.     In  the.c  species  the  pectoral 
.  are  very  large,  much  larger  m  fact,  proporUonatdy 
U.n  those  of  iUe  Exocctus,  at  least  ^^PP-^;;"\ly-   ,^^^ 
;  clo.er  examination  it  is  seen  that  the  body  of  the 
„  \rd    is    much    more    stocky,    and    consequently 
vu  r  than  that  of  the  Exouius,  vvlule  the  buoying 
"bidders   are   very   small   and   ineffective      Apart 
iL  this  knowledge  it  would  be  very  d.thcult  to  under- 
Lnd  why  the  Gurnard  should  not  t    a  much  bette 
;iv,r  than   the  Exocctus.     For  the  wings,   instead  of 
p  ri   g  off  towards  tne  end.  Uke  those  of  the  Exocctus 
1  oh   much   resemble   a   swallow's  wmgs)   actually 
aden  out.  being  considerably  wider  at  the  tip  than 
at  the  junction  with  the  body.     They  are  also  fantas 
tu  dly  decorated  with  long  protruding  spines  at  the 

sldf  and  ends,  the  ribs  of  the  P-'f  ^^J'  ^  ^^Xn 
produced  beyond  the  membrane,  perhaps  for  protection 
but  apparently  for  decorative  purposes.         ,     .    ^     , 
Th     second  of  these  volatile  fish  is  a  denizen  of 
the  Arabian  sea.  Persian  Gulf  and  Bay  of   Bengal 
„..ver  being  seen  very  far  from  land.     It  is  practically 
unknown  to  sailors,  but  is  often  caught  with  hook 
a  d  hne  by  the  hardly  bestead  native  fishermen  on 
2' Coromandel  Coast,  who  pursue  their  calhng  upon 
a  wretched  contrivance  of  their  logs  lashed  side  by 
s,de,  wUh  a  few  turns  of  coir  spun-yarn,  on  which 
they  can  only  mamtain  a  kneeling  position,  and  from 
which  they  are  continually  being  swept  by  the  sea 
when  it  is  at  rll  rough.     They  are  there  g^e^tly  e  " 
teemed  as  food,  and  credited  with  much  greater  powers 
of  flight  than  they  r'ially  possess. 


1*= 


CHAPTER    XVIII 
THE    DOLPHIN 

WHEREFORE,  or  when,  or  how  sailors  as  a  class 
agreed  to  call  the  lovely  fish  which  is  the  sub- 
ject of  the  present  sketch  a  Dolphin  is  and 
must  remain  a  mystery.  It  is  the  source  of  endless 
confusion,  this  mixing  up  of  mammals  and  fish  by 
calling  them  the  same  name,  yet,  such  is  the  intense 
conservatism  of  the  seafarer  and  the  perfect  continuity 
of  tradition  as  regards  nomenclature,  that  it  seems  im- 
possible that  the  Coryphacna  should  ever  be  railed  by 
the  sailor  anything  but  a  Dolphm,  or  the  Dolphin 
(Dclphinidae)  anything  but  a  porpoise,  or  indeed  any 
of  the  smallest  irammalia  of  the  sea  with  the  exception 
of  the  seals. 

Sailors  are  as  a  class  exceedingly  unobservant  and 
careless  in  their  classification  of  the  most  familiar 
fauna  of  the  sea,  but  onre  a  fish  or  bird  lias  a  name 
given  it,  that  name,  however  t:bsurd,  is  bound  to  stick, 
and  no  amount  of  light  shed  upon  the  creature's  habits, 
etc.,  will  ever  cause  it  to  be  altered.  Perhaps  after 
this  small  explanation  I  may  be  permitted  the  privilege 
of  an  old  sailor,  and  call  my  subject,  in  defiance  of 
scientific  rules,  the  Dolphin.  It  is  an  easier  name  at 
any  rate  than  Coryphacna. 

The  principal  characteristic  of  this  marvellously 
beautiful  denizen  of  the  deep  sea  is  its  iridescent 
col  .iring,  of  bkr  and  gold  principally,  but  so  modified 
and  changeable  by  each  passing  mood  or  pose  of  the 

^36 


The  Dying  Dolphin  239 

,;,,  or  play  of  sunlif^ht.  that  all  splendid  hues  known 
fm.nLm  to  be  reproduced  on  Its  body  It  1  U.hes 
throT^h  all  the  colour-schemes  imaguiable  wi  h  m- 
crcJibly  swift  and  dazzhng  effect,  then  as  swdtly  all 
the  colours  seem  to  blend  into  one  dull  s.yer  grey 
which  renders  the  fish  almost  invisible  amid  the  bright 

''" It'ha'long  been  an  article  of  poetic  faith  that  the 
dvm^  Dolphin  is  more  splendid  in  his  colour  changes 
th.i\e  e'.r  is  during  life  ;    but  from  t  us,  after  long 
xiH.ncnce,   I  must  emphatically  dissent.     It  is  true 
ti>' t  when  a  Dolphin  suffers  sudden  and  violent  death 
.i,h  as  being  transfixed  by  the  granes  or  nve-pointed 
:.h-^i.car  in  common  use  on  board  ship,  his  body  does 
,.h,i;,t    a   series    of    swiftly   changing   colours,     airly 
vuid      But  they  are  never  so  brilliant  as  tliose  shown 
;;  tt  hving  hsh,  when  in  the  height  of  his  activity  he 
l.^ul.  li.mseU  in  arrowy  flight  after  his  prey,  or  springs 
,.  ,p  nd.cularly   into  the  sunshine,   the  spray   falling 
IL  h.m  like  a  shower  of  diamonds,  and   ns  glorious 
hu.>  flashing  in  the  glare  of  the  sun,  with  an  effect 
beyond  the  power  of  any  artist  to  depict  or  pen  to 

^"'when,  however,  the  Dolphin  is  caught  with  a  hook 
and  laid  on  deck  to  die,  the  kaleidoscopic  changes 
are  still  apparent,  but  oh,  so  faint  and  dulled  compared 
.  Uh  those  .hown  by  the  living  fish,  or  even  with  the 
.;.  ared  creature.  And  some  time  before  he  dies  a 
.1:11  leaden  shade  comes  over  his  gaudy  b.,dy,  and 
never  goes  away  again.  It  is  permanent  and  bca.ti  ul 
for  some  reason  which  I  do  not  understand.  Not  lung 
in  NUure  I  should  say  can  give  "^°^-'  P^^'^^'^/'^.^ 
culour-loving  eye  than  the  sight  of  a  number  of  Dolph m 
on  a  su-nnv  day,  when  Mie  sea  is  smooth  enough  to 
observe   ah    their   motions   properly.     Not   even   the 


ff!i- 


'••■> 


-•is. 


240 


The  Dolphin 


amazingly  beautiful  tints  and  shadings  of  a  flock  of 
humming  birds  can  vie  with  the  marvellous  splendour 
of  this  wonderful  fish. 

A  cursory  examination  would  lead  one  to  suppose 
that  the  Dolphin  was  a  scaleless  fish,  as  indeed  is 
nearly  true  of  the  mackerel,  with  which  the  Dolphin 
has  undoubtedly  some  affinity.  But  a  little  search 
will  show  that  minute  scales  do  exist  all  over  the  body, 
covered  by  a  fine  skin,  and  that  around  the  shoulders 
the  scales  are  fairly  large  and  thickly  set,  so  thickly 
indeed  that  in  removing  them  it  is  possible  to  run  the 
fingers  beneath  them,  and  tear  off  several  square  inches 
at  a  time,  in  a  large  specimen.  And  quite  close  to  the 
head  the  scales  blend  in  so  closely  with  the  bony  plates 
of  the  skull  that,  if  sufficient  force  be  used,  some  of  the 
latter  may  be  torn  off  without  being  separated  from  lae 
scale-sheets. 

Like  most  other  sea  fish,  the  Dolphin  has  a  medial 
line  extending  from  the  middle  of  the  head  to  the  fork 
of  the  tail,  but  unlike  all  the  Scombridae  or  true  mackerel 
family,  this  line  is  not  composed  as  to  its  posterior 
third  of  horny  conical  processes  like  rudimentary 
armour,  but  is  merely  a  dark  line  drawn  as  if  with  a 
lead  pencil,  as  in  the  whiting,  haddock,  and  cod.  /vna- 
tninically  this  line  is  an  elongation  of  the  fifth  nerve 
of  the  brain,  but  its  use  who  can  tell  ?  It  is  probably 
a  survival  of  some  elaborate  organ  wtiich  had  lost  its 
usefulness,  and  so  became  atrophied  and  disappeared 
according  to  Nature  s  inexorable  decrees. 

The  fins  of  this  elegant  fish  are  m  keeping  with 
his  other  beauties.  Un  his  back,  from  the  crown  of 
hi?  head  to  within  two  or  three  inches  of  his  tail,  he 
wears  a  dor-- J  fin  half  us  wide  as  his  body.  In  colour 
it  is  burnislied  yellow  gold,  and  its  contrast  with  the 
dazzling    peacock    blue    of    the     back    immediately 


!''-^.w*S?'   ■'i^i-. 


Elegance  and  Colour         24 1 

btneath  it  is  exceedingly  striking  as  well  as  pleasing. 
It  is  always  carried  erect,  but  sometimes,  as  when  the 
ti.^h  makes  one  of  its  immense  parabolic  leaps  after 
prey,  such  as  a  flying-fish,  it  seems  to  stand  much 
higher  than  usual  and  to  glow  with  greater  intensity. 
It  gives  the  fish  a  grand  appearance  and  adds  greatly 
to  Its  apparent  size.  The  caudal  fin  is  very  large  also, 
Jixply  forked,  and  most  elegant  in  shape.  When  the 
tish  IS  in  haste,  its  vibrations  are  so  rapid  that  it  seems 
to  take  an  entirely  new  shape,  and  if  the  sun  is  shining 
it  appears  like  two  rays  of  llame  branching  out  in  the 
ii.h's  wake,  being  of  the  same  metallic  hue  as  the  dorsal 
tin.  The  pectoral,  ventral,  and  anal  fins  are  com- 
paratively insignificant,  as  indeed  is  usual  with  what 
1  like  to  call  normally  shapen  fish.  Only  oM/re-shaped 
lish  have  these  minor  fins  fantastically  and  hugely 
developed. 

The  general  shape  of  the  Dolphin  is  excellently 
adapted  for  speed.  His  head  is  high  in  front,  almost 
rectangular,  but  presenting  a  sharp  bow.  The  body 
behind  does  not  thicken  very  much,  the  largest  speci- 
men I  ever  caugh*.  being,  although  six  feet  long,  only 
six  inches  through.  It  was  more  than  a  foot  wide 
though,  and  its  mouth  was  a  horizontal  gash  in  its 
head  that  opened  wedge-shaped  and  large  enough 
to  admit  a  fish  six  inches  in  diameter.  Also  it  was 
well-furnished  with  exceedingly  sharp  teeth,  in  closely 
set  rows,  but  quite  small. 

The  female  is  precisely  similar  in  appearance  to  the 
male  except  m  the  contour  of  the  forehead,  which 
rer.edes  with  a  beautiful  curve  from  the  upper  jaw, 
instead  of  being  high  and  rectangular  like  that  of  the 
male.  In  colour  she  is  quite  as  gaudy  as  her  spouse, 
but  in  size,  as  usual,  inferior. 

Now   with  regard  to  their  breeding-places,  they 

16 


.^: 


242 


The   Dolphin 


are,  like  tlioso  of  most  deep-sea  pelagic  f  ■!,  wrappjed 
in  mybteiy.  But  altlujugh  I  would  not  arc  to  be  too 
dogmatic  upon  the  subject  I  feel  sure  that  the  Dolphin 
deposits  its  ova  in  masses  of  floating  wved  such  as  the 
gulf-weed  or  Sar^us^iim  haccifcriim  of  the  North 
Atlantic.  Even  that,  however,  does  not  explain  the 
breeding-places  of  those  Dolphin  who  inhabit  the  Pacific 
and  Indian  Oceans  or  the  Mediterranean,  unless 
we  may  suppose  that,  like  the  albacore,  tlie  Dolphin 
circumnavigates  the  globe,  in  order  to  return  to  his 
favourite  spawning  places.  One  thing  is  certain, 
they  do  not  spawn  at  any  depth,  for  they  are  an 
essentially  pelagic  or  surf  ice-fish.  And  they  are  never 
seen  in  the  vicinity  of  land,  except  as  in  the  case  of  such 
mountain  peal<s  as  St.  Helena,  Ascension,  St.  Paul's 
Rocks,  etc.,  which,  rising  almost  sheer  from  great 
depths,  have  bold,  steep-to,  precipitous  shores,  around 
which  the  Dolphin  may  be  se<'n  playing  quite  close  to 
the  rocks,  apparently  regarding  them  as  a  new  and 
curious  kind  of  ship.  At  least  that  is  the  impression 
made  upon  a  sailor  accustomed  (in  a  sailing  ship  that  is) 
to  be  accompanied  in  ocean's  remotest  solitudes  by 
these  wonderfully  friendly  and  beautiful  fish. 

Tlie  habitat  of  the  Dolphin  is  almost  co-extensive 
with  that  of  the  sperm  whale  and  albacore.  But  being 
apparently  more  intolerant  of  cold  than  either  of  these 
sea  denizens,  he  is  seldom  found  so  far  north  or  south 
as  they  range.  Only  when  an  exceptionally  warm 
summer  heats  the  sea-surface  considerably  above  its 
usual  temperature  does  the  Dolphin  extend  his  wander- 
ings into  unfamiliar  regions,  following  his  natural 
food,  the  flying-tish  and  squid,  who,  being  like  himself 
true  pelagic  fish,  love  to  roam  as  far  as  they  can  out 
of  their  usual  regions  when  the  unwonted  warmth  of 
the  water  invites  them  to  do  so.     I  have  seen  them  as 


Modern   Sea  Disabil:ties      243 

fir  nnrth  ns  tho  Azores  and  have  heard  of  them  being 
.  ,n  in  tin-  Hay  of  Biscay  ;    but,  while  I  do  not  feel 
..1,1,  to  (Icnv  that  this  can  be  true,  I  feel  sure  that  the 
conditions  must  have  been  .ibnonnal  in  the  extreme. 
Now    it    mav    be    considered   an    ultra-refinement 
of  il-  -<  riiition  thus  to  dwell  upon  the  peculiarities  of  a 
,!    ituit    whuli  is  (juite  unknown  to  the  majority  of 
pc.tple,  and  from  the  circumstances  of  the  case  hkely 
to  ninaiii  so.     i or  not  only  is  it  a  very  small  fringe 
of  the  p.'!>ulation  that  ^'oes  or  can  go  to  sea  far  enough 
to  see  a  i)Ml])hin,  but  even  sailors  are  being  precluded 
f;  Ml  making   the   acquaintance  of    Deep-Sea  Peopl- 
by  ifaM)n  of  the  passing  away  of  the  sailing  vessei. 
TiKTe  rue  very  many  sailors  to-day  who  have  done 
ail  I  iiniiiious  amount  of  voyaging  to  all  parts  of  the 
WMild,  \it  have  ni'ver  seen  one  of  these  fish,  which 
11-.  (1  to  he  among  the  most  familiar  objects  to  seafarers, 
bir.uise    these   essentially   social    sea   inhabitants   do 
1.  t  like  the  tlirobbing  of  the  propeller  or  the  swift 
ru^hiiii;  nf  the  steamship.     Much  as  they  would  like 
to  fniL;  ither  with  a  ship,  they  find  it  impossible  so  to 
dn,  uidess  she  is  propelled  by  sails.     And  so  it  comes 
ti)  iu>s  that  the  deep-sea  fish  are  losing  that  intimate 
touch    with    man,    which   they  have  maintained  for 
omntless   generations,    to    the   exceeding  benefit    of 
the  s>uior. 

My  first  acquaintance  with  the  Dolphin  was  made 
at  .1  very  early  age.  It  was  on  my  first  voyage,  from 
Lf-.diin  to  Demerara,  in  British  Guiana.  The  weather 
was  e.\(  eedingly  fine,  and  the  trade  winds  quite  light. 
As  we  crossed  that  wecl-covered  vortex  in  the 
N'trth  Atlantic  so  widely  known  as  the  Sargasso  Sea, 
we  were  often  hardly  ;  ble  to  force  a  passage  through 
the  liiv-coloured  masses,  so  feeble  was  the  impetus 
g'veii  to  our  bluff-bowed  old  craft  by  the  laggard 


^-5 


■^sm^m^s!i^^^:&si 


u:^ 


MICROCOPY    RESOLUTION    TEST    CHART 

ANSI  and   ISO  TEST  CHART   No    2 


1.0 


I.I 


"  IIM      12.5 


111    T  9 

1 11  -J  *■  r^  r\ 

i:  1^    lllll^ 


1.8 


1.25 


1.4 


1.6 


A  APPLIED  INA^GE     Inc 

'  ■  ."i    f  'js'    Mo"    -tree" 

r^^  _nester,    New    rork          !  460 J        JSA 

'-^  6)   *82  -  0300  -  Phone 


244 


The  Dolphin 


ietii^ 


breeze.  Occasionally  we  came  to  a  great  clear  space 
in  the  iTiidst  of  the  surrounding  aggregations  of  weed 
wherein  it  seemed  to  -,  ■  excited  fancy  there  moved  all 
the  embodiments  of  my  most  fevered  dreams,  such 
weird  shapes  as  only  seemed  possible  of  materiali- 
sation in  a  kind  of  waking  trance.  But  suddenly, 
while  moving  slowly  through  one  of  the  smooth  water- 
glades,  we  came  upon  a  large  school  of  fish,  numbering 
some  thousands  I  should  think,  who  swam  in  a  compact 
body,  as  if  mo\cd  by  one  common  impulse. 

When  they  all  turned  simultaneously,  the  flash 
given  off  by  their  bodies  was  as  if  a  gigantic  mirror 
had  suddenly  revolved,  focussing  the  sun  upon  my  eye. 
I  was  fascinated,  spellbound.  It  had  never  before 
occurred  to  me  that  all  over  the  great  and  wide  sea 
we  should  meet  with  fish  ;  like  so  many  other  people, 
I  had  imagined  the  sea  to  be  a  barren  waste  of  bitter 
waters.  Breathlessly  I  sought  the  only  sailor  on 
board  from  whom  I  was  ever  able  to  get  any  information 
and,  full  of  excitement,  led  him  to  the  rail,  where  I 
pointed  out  the  school.  '  Wlia— what  are  they?' 
I  gasped.  He  gave  just  one  look,  jerked  out  the  word 
'  Dolphin,'  and  rushed  away,  leaving  me  wondering 
whatever  was  the  matter. 

He  dived  into  the  forecastle,  emerging  in  a  minute 
with  a  fishing-line,  to  the  end  of  which  was  attached 
a  stout  hook  and  a  burnished  piece  of  tin.  Running 
out  to  the  bowsprit  end  he  began  to  jerk  the  line  up 
and  down,  allowing  the  shining  lure  to  touch  the  water 
intermittently.  In  a  minute  he  had  a  fish,  the  whole 
school  ha\ing  moved  on  to  a  spot  just  beneath  him. 
And  I  had  the  privilege  of  fetching  his  catch  in  while 
he  tried  for  anotlier.  He  caught  them  so  fast  that  I 
had  no  time  to  stop  and  examine  them  until  the  school 
shifted,  which  was  not  before  he  had  caught  eight. 


A  School  of  Juveniles        245 

Then  the  school  having  temporarily  disappeared, 
he  cam  in,  and  we  gloated  over  the  catch  together. 
I  of  course,  who  had  never  hitherto  seen  a  fish  caught 
larger  than  a  stickleback  in  the  Serpentine,  was  full 
of  amazement  at  their  size,  being  about  eighteen  inches 
long  and  averaging  three  pounds  weight  each.  But 
Joe  told  me  that  they  were  very  young  ones  and  were 
seldom  met  with  like  this,  usually  keeping  concealed 
somewhere  until  they  were  much  larger.  And  when 
he  told  me  how  large  they  really  grew,  t  confess  that 
I  felt  very  doubtful  of  his  veracity. 

For  the  rest  of  that  day  I  had  no  relief  from  my 
desire  to  see  more  of  these  pretty  fish.     I  kept  as  c  ireful 
a  watch  for  them  as  if  my  life  depended  upon  discovering 
them.     But  it  was  not  until  I  accidentally  glanced 
down   the   rudder   trunk — a   curious-shaped   opening 
in  the  after-part  of  the  quarter-deck  which  admitted 
the  rudder-head,  and  down  which  there  was  plenty  of 
room  for  a  slim  man  to  fall  by  the  side  of  the  rudder  into 
the   sea — that    I    discovered    the    school    all    closely 
packed   under   the   ship's   bottom,   as   if   they   were 
magnetically  held  to  her  sides.     Whereat  my  wonder 
was  again  excited  ;    but  as  my  chum  was  now  asleep 
I  had  to  watch,  and  see  if  I  could  find  out  for  myself 
why  they  thus  clustered  about  us.     It  could  not  be 
for  food,  I  reasoned,  for  the  vessel  had  been  newly 
sheathed  with  yellow  metal  just  before  leaving,  and 
there  were  as  yet  no  sea-growtiis,  either  animal  or 
vegetable,  upon  her.     And  as  I  watched  and  wondered 
it  was  suddenly  revealed  to  me  why  these  fish  gathered 
so  closely  about  us.      It  was  for  shelter,   for  pro- 
tection. 

All  at  once  there  darted  into  the  midst  of  their 
close-packed  masses  one  of  their  own  kind,  but  very 
much  larger,  one  at    least  six  feet  in    length    and 


:2Z 


r>= 


246 


The  Dolphin 


i-rt:v-- 


proportionately  wide.  I  saw  them  scatter,  but  aim- 
lessly, as  if  they  knew  not  whither  to  flee.  And  indeed 
they  did  not,  for  if  some  security  could  not  be  found 
hugging  the  underside  of  the  .ship,  it  most  assuredly 
would  be  absent  from  the  open  spaces  of  the  clear 
The  aggressive  cannibal  could  for  a  brief  space 


sea 


be  dimly  discerned  as  he  darted  to  and  fro  amidst  the 
frightened  youngsters,  and  then  the  water  became  so 
foul  with  blood  and  floating  fragments  of  fish  still 
quivering  with  recent  life,  that  I  could  not  see  more 
of  the  fray  for  a  little  space.  Wlien,  however,  we 
had  passed  beyond  that  befouled  area  and  the  trans- 
parent blue  beneath  enabled  me  to  notice  what  was 
occurring,  1  saw  that  the  aforetime  solid  mass,  was, 
although  still  endeavouring  to  cling  to  the  shelter  of 
the  ship,  broken  up  into  many  little  groups,  which 
continually  shifted  their  position,  as  if  demoralised 
by  fear. 

Thus  they  remained  with  us  until  we  again  pene- 
trated the  mass  of  floating  weed,  when  we  lost  them, 
for  there  they  found  better  shelter  than  the  ship  could 
afford,  besides  what  they  must  have  needed  badly, 
an  abundance  of  suitable  food.  I  have  never  been 
able  to  see  a  school  of  Dolphin  younger  than  those 
were,  although  I  have  many  times  seen  them  in  large 
schools  of  individuals  somewhat  more  developed,  but 
still  clinging  together,  as  if  for  mutual  protection. 
I  once  boarded  a  derelict  in  mid-Atlantic  which 
contained  a  large  number  of  these  small  Dolphin. 
They  had  evidently,  in  rushing  from  the  attack  of 
one  of  their  numerous  enemies,  plunged  headlong 
into  the  gaping  captivity  of  the  main-hatch,  which 
was  completely  uncovered  and  had  its  port  coamings 
quite  under  the  sea,  the  vesi^el  being  nearly  on  her 
beam-ends.     The  fish  darted  about  between  the  turn- 


Adult   Immunity 


247 


bling  logs  which  composed  her  cargo  as  if  they  were 
(luite  at  hone  amid  their  strange  surroundings  ;  but 
I  could  not  help  thinking  that  many  of  them  must 
have  got  crushed  to  death  down  there. 

The  aggregate  numbers  of  Dolphin  in  the  ocean 
must  be  verv  great,  but  still  quite  insignificant,   I 
should  say,  compared  with  the  incalculable  hosts  of 
the  better-known  sea  fishes,  which  frequent  shallow 
waters  and  are  of  such  value  as  food.     For,  except 
when  they  are  quite  immature,  and,  swimming  together, 
appear  to  invite  the  onslaught  of  their  enemies,  who 
are  of  many  kinds,  they  are  never  even  seen  in  groups, 
much  less  in  shoals.     All  their  hunting  is  done  in- 
dividually, and  although  one  seldom  sees  one  Dolphm 
without   others   being   near,   they   do   not   appear   to 
fraternise  at  all.     Perhaps  in  the  presence  of  a  common 
danger,  like  the  attack  of  an  albacore  or  a  sword-fish, 
they  might  revive  the  memories  of  their  youth  and 
draw  together  for  mutual  comfort,  but  I  very  much 
doubt  it.     I  believe  instinct  teaches  them  that  the 
more  widely  separated  they  are,  the  more  opportunities 
will  be  afforded  them  of  making  good  their  escape. 
Indeed,  I  am  at  a  loss  to  imagine  how  any  fish  could 
possibly  overtake  the  Dolphin  to  do  him  any  harm 
except   by   stratagem,    his    amazing    speed    enabling 
him  to   distance  easily  any  other  enemy  when   un- 
hampered by  the  company  of  many  friends.     I  really 
believe  that  when  once  the  Dolphin  attains  his  or  her 
full  growth,  which,  owing  to  the  systematic  devouring 
of  the  younger  ones  by  their  congeners  and  other  deep- 
sea  fish,  is  only  the  case  with  about  five  per  thousand 
of  those  hatched,  he  or  she  is  practically  immune  from 
destruction  by  any  enemy  except  man.     And,  as  is 
the  case  with  so  many  other  of  the  deep-sea  folk, 
owing  to  the  steady  displacement  of  saihng  ships  by 


til.. 


tiks. 


248 


The  Dolphin 


steamers,  man  does  not  now  often  get  a  chance  to 
do  them  any  harm. 

The  food  of  the  Dolphin,  as  before  hinted  at,  is 
flying-fish  and  squid,  with  an  occasional  feast  upon 
the  young  of  his  own  species,  or  any  other  species 
that  come  in  his  way.  I  have,  on  several  occasions, 
found  in  the  maw  of  a  Dolphin  that  I  have  caught, 
specimens  of  small  fish  that  were  quite  unknown 
to  me,  fish  that  sailors  never  see  except  under  similar 
conditions.  So  that  the  Dolphin  is  like  most  other 
fish,  he  has  his  special  predilections  ;  but  almost  any- 
thing that  is  eatable  in  the  sea  he  will  eat.  However, 
I  f.rmly  believed  that  he  only  ate  living  fish,  that  it 
was  impossible  to  lure  him  with  anything  but  an  ap- 
parently living  bait,  and  that,  if  the  play  of  the  bait 
were  allowed  to  cease  for  an  instant  while  he  was 
near,  he  would  immediately  retire  disillusioned,  and 
no  amount  of  coa.xing  would  bring  him  back  again. 

But  it  so  happened  that  one  day,  when  the  ship 
was  lying  as  still  as  a  ship  can  be  at  sea,  it  being  a 
stark  calm,  several  Dolphin  paid  us  a  visit.  One  came 
near  enough  to  be  transfixed  by  the  granes  skilfully 
hurled  by  the  boatswain,  but  the  others  took  the 
pointed  hint  and  kept  out  of  harm's  way.  The  jerking 
about  of  a  piece  of  polished  metal  fastened  to  a  hook 
dangled  from  the  jib-boom  end  quite  failed  to  attract 
any  of  them.  The}'  kept  at  a  reasonable  distance 
from  us  when  on  the  surface,  and  only  drew  near  to 
us  about  the  keel  when  they  settled  down  into  the 
depths. 

The  fish  that  had  been  caught  was  handed  to  me 
as  usual  for  dissection,  and  in  its  maw  I  found  some 
flying-fish  that  had  been  quite  recently  swallowed, 
and  not  at  all  injured.  One  of  these  I  fastened  on 
to  a  hook,  and  lowered  it  quietly  into  the  translucent 


Luring  Dolphin 


249 


water  under  the  stern,  paying  out  line  until  the  flying- 
tish  gleamed  like  a  silver  spot  about  five  fathoms  deep. 
Presently  a  Dolphin  came  stealing  out  from  beneath 
the  ship,  where  he  had  been  lying  in  the  shade,  and 
leisurely  neared  my  bait.     I  saw  him  put  his  nose 
to  it,  I  watched  him  turn  and  take  it  in  his  mouth, 
and  when  it  had  entirely  disappeared  I  struck  as  hard 
as  I  could,  and  caught  the  largest  Dolphin  I  have  ever 
seen,  whose  weight  was  forty  pounds.     By  using  the 
same  means,   I,   that  afternoon,  caught  three  more 
large  Dolphin,  and  fully  established  the  fact  that  the 
moving  lure  was  not  essential.     Afterwards  I  caught 
Dolphin  with  a  piece  off  one  of  their  own  bodies,  cut 
in  the  shape  of  a  fish  from  the  under  side,  where  there 
is  a  silvery  sheen  upon  it.     I  shall  not  soon  forget 
the  joy  there  was  in  the  forecastle  over  that  first  catch. 
No  one  expected  it,  but  every  one  was  hoping  for  a 
breeze,  in  order  that  they  might  get  an  opportunity 
to  catch  some.     For  we  were  almost  at  starvation 
point,  the  provisions  being  so  bad,  and,  moreover, 
scurvy  was  just  beginning  to  show  its  awful  symptoms 
upon  some  of  us.     The  arrival  of  my  fish  changed 
all  that,  for  all  hands  had  three  meals  of  fresh  fish, 
and  that  by  far  the  most  sapid  and  succulent  of  all 
the  deep-water  fish,  with  the  possible  exception  of  the 
flying-fish,  the  latter  being  never  caught  at  sea  except 
by  the  accident  of  its  flying  aboard. 

Unlike  the  albacore,  bonito,  skip-jack,  and  sword- 
.ish,  the  flesh  of  the  Dolphin  is  white  and  full  of  flavour. 
Boile  1,  it  is  better  than  cod,  only  it  has  the  drawback  of 
being  occasionally  poisonous.  Why  or  how  it  becomes 
so  I  do  not  know,  nor  have  I  ever  heard  any  theory 
worth  mentioning  to  account  for  it ;  but  a  curious 
belief  of  sailors  in  connection  with  it  is  interesting. 
They  firmly  believe  that  if  a  piece  of  silver  be  boiled 


:^i 


250 


The  Dolphin 


with  the  fish,  and  the  latter  is  unfit  to  eat,  the  sih-er 

will  turn  black  ;   but  since  the  presence  of  a  trace  of 

sulphur  in  the  water  would  produce  the  same  effect, 

I  fear  it  is  not  a  very  reliable  test.     Moreover,  as  fish 

caught  at  sea  by  sailors  is  nearly  always  fried  or  baked, 

even  that  doubtful  test  cannot  usually  be  applied, 

and  in  consequence  the  hungry  seafarer  has,  as  he 

vulgarly  puts  it,  to  '  go  it  blind,'  and  hope  that  he 

will  not  wake  up  with  swollen  head,  distorted  and 

discoloured  features,  and  an  acute  sense  of  pain  all 

over  his  body,  these  being  the  more  evident  symptoms 

of  fish   poisoning.     It   must   gratefully  be   admitted 

that  instances  of  poisoning  by  Dolphin  are  rare,  and 

by  bonito  and  albacore  practically  non-existent.    It 

is  only,  as  a  rule,  the  curiously  shaped  and  coloured 

fish    caught    in    out-of-the-way    harbours    that    are 

dangerous  to  the  eater.     None  of  them  are  deadly, 

except  the  patient  be  in  a  very  poor  state  of  health, 

or  unable  to  apply  the  simple  remedies  indicated. 

For  seme  curiously  finical  reason  the  Dolphin  has 
been  supposed  to  have  several  different  branches  in 
his  family;  but  like  so  many  other  creatures  of  the 
sea  that  have  been  credited  with  many  ramifications 
of  species,  careful  investigation  has  so  reduced  the 
supposed  varieties  that  the  most  eminent  ichthyo- 
logists now  only  credit  Coryphaena  with  two  branches, 
C.  hippiirus  and  C.  equisetiis.  It  may  well  be  that 
even  th-.3  last  distinction  will  break  down  upon  closer 
scrutiny,  and  only  one  variety  be  found  to  obtain  all 
the  world  over.  Still,  it  is  very  easy  to  understand 
how  this  opinion  as  to  differing  species  may  arise, 
owing  to  the  fact  that  the  young  differ  widely  in  Ihcr 
fin  shapes  and  contour  of  head,  also  the  colour  arrange- 
ment is  much  modified  as  they  grow  older. 

But    a    great    difficulty    confronts    the    museum 


Sucking'fish  Parasites        25 1 

nituralist  in  the  study  of  the  deep-sea  fauna.  He  is 
s.)  greatly  dependent  upon  stray  specimens  brought 
hnine  for  his  observation,  he  cannot,  in  the  nature 
of  tilings,  bring  personal  experience  to  bear,  and  he 
must  theorise  largely.  Which  of  course  tends  to  error, 
since  it  is,  to  a  great  extent,  working  in  the  dark. 
I  have  had  a  curious  instance  of  this  while  preparing 

the  present  chapter.  ,     ,     ,      „ 

In  previous  pages  I  have  described  the  Remora, 
or  parasitical  sucking-fish,  under  the  head  of  sharks, 
because  every  specimen  I   have  seen,  and  they  run 
into    hundreds,    have    possessed    all    the    well-known 
characteristics    of    the    shark.     The    curious    leaden 
and  white  hue  of  the  body,  the  long  upper  lobe  of  the 
tail  fin,   the  strange   eye   full  of  sinister  expression, 
the  scaleless  shagreen  skin,  making  a  very  good  sub- 
stitute for  sandr'aper,  and  the  gill-openings,  just  slits 
in  the  side  of  the  neck,  instead  of  one  large  free  opening 
spn  ading  wide  and  admitting  the  water  to  the  blood- 
red  feathery  branchiae  inside  ;  all  these  marked  my 
suckers   and  stamped  them   as  sharks.     Only   there 
v.as  superadded  the  curious  oval  sucker  on  top  of  the 
head,  by  means  of  which  the  lazy  creature  attaches 
itself'  to  its  host,  whether  it  be  hving  or  dead.     Now 
I  am  told  that  the  Remora  is  not  a  shark  at  all,  but 
a  mackerel.     Of  course,  I  can  fully  understand  that 
there  may  very  well  be  a  species  of  Remora  which  is 
a  mackerel,  but  that  I  have  only  seen  the  kind  which 
has  the  shark  characteristics  I  have  absolutely   no 
doubt  whatever. 

I  cannot  understand  why  so  familiar  a  fish  as  it 
is,  being  certainly  much  more  frequently  seen  at  sea 
than  the  species  which  I  do  not  know,  should  be  un- 
known to  the  authorities.  There  is,  therefore,  all  the 
more  credit  due  to  them  for  having  rejected  all  the 


iiS' 


■ex: 

•«Sr-. 


252 


The  Dolphin 


fine-drawn  theories  about  the  varieties  of  Dolphin, 
and  reduced  them  to  two,  which  is  certainly  all  the 
varieties  there  are. 

The  life  of  the  Dolphin  must  be  an  exceedingly 
happy  one,  ranging  as  he  does  the  free  breadths  of 
all  the  oceans  without  hindrance  of  any  kind.  He 
knows  none  of  the  binding  hamperings  of  a  fixed 
abode,  and  even  when  the  irresistible  claims  of  the 
perpetuation  of  his  race  are  upon  him  he  still  knows  no 
restriction,  is  not  compelled  to  go  where  traps  and 
nets  are  laid  by  man  for  his  destruction,  as  is  the  case 
with  the  albacore.  Such  enemies  as  he  has  he  is  well 
able  to  outpace,  to  elude,  and,  although  it  is  certain 
that  Dolphin  are  occasionally  found  in  the  stomach 
of  a  sperm  whale,  there  is  no  doubt  that  their  presence 
in  that  vast  receptacle  of  all  kinds  of  fish  is  almost, 
if  not  quite,  due  to  overwhelming  curiosity  on  the 
part  of  the  Dolphin,  resulting  in  his  swimming  down 
the  gaping  cavern  of  the  whale's  throat,  whence  he 
never  emerges.  Sometimes,  too,  he  is  taken  off  his 
guard  and  falls  a  prey  to  a  shark  or  an  albacore,  but 
that  I  think  occurs  but  seldom,  for  he  has  cultivated 
in  a  remarkable  degree  the  faculty  of  keeping  a  bright 
look-out  for  the  soundless  approach  of  an  enemy 
large  enough  to  bite  him  in  half  and  swallow  him 
whole. 

I  once  witnessed  a  case  in  point.  It  was  in  the 
Pacific  Ocean  on  a  perfectly  calm  day,  when  from 
my  perch  at  the  mast-head  all  that  was  going  on  in 
the  blue  serene  beneath,  illuminated  as  it  was  by  the 
fierce  vertical  rays  of  the  tropical  sun,  was  most  clearly 
visible  through  a  pair  of  powerful  binoculars.  Quite 
close  at  hand  floated  a  huge  log  of  timber,  the 
upper  part  of  which  was  clean  and  fresh-lookinj, 
although  wave-washed.    Underneath,  though,  it  was 


-V--i 


if;J»S^ 


A  Movable   Feast 


■^j3 


just  a  haven  of  refuge  for  a  veritable  host  of  (1(  .p-sca 
folks,  all  attracted  to  it  by  the  luirbourage  it  gave  to 
such  creatures  as  were  capable  of  supplying  them  with 
food. 

In  the  first  place,  it  was  closely  covered  with  bar- 
nacles, those  curious  shell  fish  which  abound  everywhere 
at  sea,  being  seemingly  evolved  out  of  nothing,  so 
quickly  do  they  appear  upon  any  sea-washed  substance, 
such  as  a  ship's   bottom    or  a  floating    log.      They 
are  attached  to  their  home  by  a  gelatinous  footstalk, 
at   the  end  of  which  their  white  shells,  almost  like 
those  of  a  miniature  mussel,  except  in  colour,  grow. 
Normally  these   footstalks    are   very  short,   or    only 
about  an  inch  in  length,  as  when  the  barnacle  is  at- 
tached to  a  swiftly  moving  object.     But  on  this  log 
they  averaged  two  feet  in  length,  looking  curiously 
like  an  immense  mass  of  large-sized  boiled  macaroni 
growing  out  of  the  log  and  waving  about  with  graceful 
undulations.     This   great    tangle  of   living  filaments 
was   densely   populated   by   all   sorts   of   small   fish, 
Crustacea  of  various  kinds,  etc.     Outside,  but  very 
close  to,  were  somewhat  larger  fish,  eating  their  fill 
of  the  bountiful  feast  provided.     And  a  Httle  farther 
off  still,   coming  and  going  with  stealthy  rushings, 
were  several  Dolphin,  busily  engaged  in  filling  their 
maws  with  the  smaller  fish.     It  was  a  splendid  e.Kposi- 
tion  of   the  chain  of    interdependence    subsisting  in 
the  sea,  only  of  course  we  could  not  follow  that  chain 
far,  the  base  of  it  being  among  the  creatures  invisible 
except  to  a  high-power  microscope. 

But  while  I  watched  I  saw  a  splendid  Dolphin, 
his  coat  flashing  its  sapphire  and  gold  under  the  rays 
of  the  sun,  passing  with  leisurely  tail-waving  the  side 
of  the  log  nearest  to  me,  apparently  satiated  with  food. 
A  dim  shadow  emerged  from  beneath  the  log  just 


254 


The  Dolphin 


behind  him,  shot  upward,  there  was  an  eddy  and  a  stain, 
and  the  gorgeous  sea  dandy  was  m  two  halves,  one  of 
which  had  disappeared  down  the  throat  of  the  lurking 
and  crafty  shark,  who  had  so  successfully  stalked  his 
elegant  prey.  Of  course  the  second  half  rapidly 
followed  the  first  down  tlie  shark's  curious  cresccntic 
mouth,  when  he  immediately  concealed  himself  again. 
Three  times  did  I  watch  the  shark  perform  that 
mancEuvre  successfully,  exercising  an  amount  of 
patient  self-restraint  that  was  wonderful  to  beliold, 
remembering  how  cruelly  he  was  being  tormented  by 
the  cravings  of  that  enormous  liver  of  his. 

This  was  indeed  the  only  occasion  upon  which  I 
saw  a  Dolphin  outwitted  by  a  shark  ;  as  to  being 
caught  by  so  slow  a  fish  as  the  shark  is,  the  thing 
is  unthinkable.  I  do  not  imagine,  however,  that  the 
Dolphin  is  very  intelligent,  for  I  once  saw  a  whole 
group  of  them,  ijeven  in  number,  caught  one  offer 
the  other  from  a  flying-fish  boat  in  Barbadoes  Bay. 
We  had  been  catching  a  goodly  number  o'  Exocctus, 
when  the  vast  lal  from  which  we  had  been  dipping 
out  fish  until  our  backs  were  nearly  breaking  suddenly 
vanished  like  the  breath  off  a  mirror.  And  then  we 
saw  the  aforesaid  group  prowling  around  quite  slowly, 
as  if  bewildered  by  the  sudden  disappearance  of  what 
they  doubtless  considered  their  food  supply.  A  couple 
of  stout  hooks  attached  to  heavy  lines  were  each 
furnished  with  a  still  living  flying-fish  and  flung  over- 
side, streaming  away  astern  in  the  gentle  ripple  of 
our  wake  ;  for  we  were  just  moving  a  knot  or  so  an 
hour.  In  five  minutes  the  whole  seven  of  them  were 
inboard,  each  coming  up  to  take  the  place  of  the  com- 
rade he  had  seen  depart  so  hastily,  without  exhibiting 
a  trace  of  any  knowledge  that  there  was  danger  to 
his  life  in  the  proximity  of  the  boat. 


St.  Helena  Beef 


255 


Commercially  the  Dolphin  may  be  neglected. 
Except  to  sailors  in  sailing  vessels,  the  only  places 
where  he  is  an  object  of  any  interest  at  all  for  food 
or  sale  are  Barbadoes  and  St.  Helena.  At  the  former 
place  he  fetches  a  fairly  good  price,  his  flesh  bemg 
hold  in  high  esteem  and  greatly  prized  as  a  change 
from  the  everlasting  flying-fish,  while  in  St.  Helena 
he  shares  the  privilege  of  being  chased  by  the  extra- 
ordinarily mongrel  fishermen  with  the  bonito,  the 
albacore,  and  the  horse-mackerel  the  three  being 
classed  under  the  generic  term  '  St.  Helena  beef.' 

To  the  poorly  and  monotonously  fed  seamen  of 
long-voyage  sailing  ships  he  is,  of  course,  always 
welcome,  and  some  of  my  pleasantest  recollections  of 
old  sea-days  are  associated  with  his  capture.  Seated 
aloft  on  the  flying-jibboom  end,  with  my  hne  tipped 
with  a  piece  of  white  rag  blowing  in  a  graceful  curve 
just  beyond  the  roll  of  foam  roaring  from  under  the 
advancing  bows,  it  was  exquisitely  delightful  to  see 
a  lithe  gorgeous  shape  spring  suddenly  upward,  seize 
my  lure,  and  commence  its  useful  journey  to  the 
hungry  stomachs  of  my  appreciative  shipmates. 
To  the  joy  of  capture,  of  successful  sport,  was  thus 
added  the  comfort  of  doing  a  kindly  act,  and  I  could 
even  imagine  the  Dolphin  sharing  my  satisfaction. 


ST. 


CHAPTER    XIX 
THE    MACKEREL 

DIFFICULT  as  it  is  to  speak  dogmatically  upon 
such  a  subject,  especially  in  view  of  the  some- 
what chaotic  condition  of  our  knowledge  of 
oceanic  ichthyology  (hateful  term),  I  feel  fairly  con- 
fident of  my  position  in  calling  the  Mackerel  family 
the  largest  in  the  world  of  fishes.  That  is,  I  believe 
that  there  are  more  varieties  of  Mackerel  than  of  any 
other  kind  of  fish,  and  wider  distribution  of  them, 
unaided  as  it  is  by  the  same  set  of  conditions  which 
permit  many  species  of  fish  inhabiting  the  profound 
depths  of  ocean  to  be  almost  universal  as  regards  the 
sea.  I  do  not  know  of  any  members  of  the  family 
who  frequent  rivers  or  lakes. 

The  head  of  the  family,  and  from  point  of  size 
the  very  king  of  fishes,  the  albacore,  tuna,  or  tunny, 
I  have  already  exhaustively  dealt  with,  as  also  the 
bonito,  the  skip-jack,  and  the  pilot-fish.  So  that  in 
the  following  remarks  these  members  of  the  great 
Mackerel  family  will,  except  for  by-allusions,  be  left 
severely  alone.  But  even  so,  there  still  remain  such 
a  sufficient  number  of  fairly  well-known  varieties  to 
be  dealt  with,  as  to  make  it  necessary  to  condense 
the  information  greatly  in  order  to  keep  it  within 
bounds. 

Naturally  the  place  of  honour  falls  to  the  Mackerel, 
whose  name  is  a  household  one  among  us,  and  who 
is  always  quoted  fondly  (but  with  what  truth  I  do  not 

256 


The   Most  Delicate  Fish      257 


know)  as  hoiriE;  the  subject  of  special  Dominical  legisla- 
tion, in  common  with  mill<.  It  is  an  article  of  faith 
that' milk  and  Mackerel  may  be  sold  on  Sunday  without 
breakint,'  the  law,  on  account  of  their  non-keeping 
properties  ;  but  judging  from  the  scenes  always  to 
be  witnessed  in  the  poorer  quarters  of  London  on 
Sunday,  where  whole  streets  are  given  up  to  vociferous 
trading  in  any  and  every  kind  of  article,  it  would 
seem  that  laws  against  commercial  Sabbath-breaking 
have  been  allowed  to  fall  into  desuetude.  And  the  one 
article  tliat  I  can  confidently  aver  that  I  have  never 
seen  sold  in  London  on  a  Sunday  is  fresh  Mackerel. 
The  kippered  Mackerel  of  course  is  sold,  with  bloaters, 
liadJocks,  and  otlier  merchandise  of  the  '  wet  and  dry  ' 
fishmonger  of  poor  neighbourhoods. 

This  may  perhaps  be  accounted  for  by  the  extreme 
proneness  of  Mackerel  to  go  '  bad.'  No  fish  is  more 
liable  to  sudden  taint  and  the  development  of  ptomaines 
than  the  Mackerel ;  under  certain  atmospheric  con- 
ditions two  hours  are  quite  sufticient  from  the  time  of 
its  capture  to  render  it  dangerous  for  eating  purposes. 
.\nd  wliat  is  a  great  deal  worse,  the  Mackerel  may  be 
quite  unfit  for  food,  but  its  conditions  be  unknown 
to  even  the  most  careful  observer  until  it  is  cooked 
and  tasted.  Then  indeed  there  is  no  concealment, 
for  the  taste  is  horrible  and  the  flesh  has  become  of  a 
putty-like  consistency. 

It  is  rather  difficult  to  understand  how  or  why 
the  Mackerel  as  an  edible  fish  has  attained  to  its  present 
undoubtedly  high  degree  of  popularity  among  our 
workers.  In  point  of  ilavour  it  is  far  surpassed  by 
many  otlier  fish,  notal)ly  by  the  much  cheaper  herring, 
a  fact  which  is  distinctly  referable  to  its  rapidity  in 
getting  stale.  A  Mackerel  frcslily  caught  and  cooked 
is  a  delicious  morsel,  bearing  no  resemblance  whatever 

17 


.'5 


258 


The   Mackerel 


';-i>s, . 


to  its  neighbour  appearing  on  some  inland  table  twenty- 
four  hours  later.  But  it  is  certainly  a  most  beautiful 
fish  in  appearance  on  a  fishmonger's  slab,  its  lovely 
colours  remaining  even  when  it  is  stale,  although  the 
bright  red  of  the  gills  has  changed  to  a  dull  maroon. 
But  its  flesh  is  firm  and  easily  separated  from  the  bones, 
a  great  virtue  in  fish  among  people  who  have  no  cooks 
to  prepare  their  food,  and  see  that  there  is  nothing 
to  do  to  it  at  table  but  to  put  it  in  the  mouth.  It 
says  much  for  the  superlative  excellence  of  the  herring, 
that  it  remains  in  such  high  esteem  in  spite  of  its 
multitude  of  small  bones,  which  are  most  dangerous 
if  they  get  into  the  throat.  Whatever  the  cause, 
the  fact  remains  that,  in  spite  of  its  comparatively 
high  price  and  lack  of  flavour,  the  Mackerel  is  ex- 
ceeding popular  among  our  workers,  and  a  joy  to  the 
costermongers,  whose  ability  and  energy  in  distri- 
buting perishable  goods  among  the  consumers  is 
unimpeachable. 

But  apart  altogether  from  the  commercial  aspects 
of  the  Mackerel,  he  is  an  exceedingly  interesting  fish 
in  his  ways,  his  mode  of  life.  Ferocious  in  the  extreme, 
he  spares  nothing  that  he  can  swallow,  and  few  items 
of  his  prey  can  escape  him,  owing  to  his  great  swiftness, 
due  to  his  elegant  shape.  Moreover,  the  colouring 
of  the  Mackerel  is  more  perfectly  adapted  for  con- 
cealment than  that  of  any  other  fish.  It  is  perhaps 
fairly  well  known  that  the  reason  why  nearly  all  fish 
are  dark-coloured  above  and  light-coloured  below 
is  for  purposes  of  concealment,  for  looking  down  upon 
them  from  the  light  the  dark  shade  blends  with  the 
dark  blue  of  the  sea,  while  looking  upwards  to  the  light 
the  silvery  belly  matches  the  water,  which  is  almost 
colourless  when  looked  through  from  that  position ; 
but  the  wavy  transverse  bands  of  light  green  and  rich 


Ferocity  of  Mackerel         a'^Q 


blue  on  the  Mackerel's  back  blend  so  admirably  with 
iiilii^r  green  or  blue  sea  that  they  render  him  almost 
invisible  from  above,  while  the  iridescent  sheen  on 
the  silvery  underside  of  the  fish  makes  an  even  more 
perfect  combination  with  the  glittering  sea,  as  looked 
tliroiigh  from  below.  Consequently  he  plays  a  terribly 
destructive  part  among  the  smaller  fish,  such  as  the 
young  of  herrings,  pilchards,  etc. 

Fortunately  lie  docs  not  attack  in  schools  ;  if  he 
(lid,  a  scliool  of  Mackerel  would  probably  '  absorb  ' 
a  school  of  herring,  leaving  not  a  «  wrack  behind.' 
No,  when  in  the  ama/ing  hosts  of  the  school,  although 
ferociously  carnivorous  as  ever,  the  Mackerel  seems 
to  keep  his  predatory  instincts  in  abeyance  for  the 
time,  as  if  under  strict  discipline.  Even  then  I 
imagine  it  would  fare  hardly  with  any  straggling 
ereature,  helpless  and  edible,  that  fell  in  the  way  of 
that  multitudinous  march.  Do  I  not  remember 
vividly  a  story  I  was  told  as  a  child,  of  a  man  who, 
swimming  out  from  Brighton,  became  surrounded  by 
a  sehool  of  mackerel,  and  was  seen  holding  up  his  arms 
for  succour,  with  scores  of  the  ravenous  creatures 
chnging  to  his  flesh.  The  story  went  on  to  its  gruesome 
elimax  of  the  recovery  of  the  skeleton  almost  stripped 
elean,  an  hour  after  the  man's  motions  for  help  were 
first  seen.  I  cannot  say  that  I  place  implicit  reliance 
upon  the  story,  but  I  have  seen  a  school  of  Mackerel 
:ound  the  carcase  of  a  dead  bullock,  and  bear  witness 
to  the  savage  energy  with  which  the  fish  in  their 
thousands  tore  at  the  fetid  mass  of  flesh.  And  so 
I  would  rather  not  go  swimming  in  the  midst  of  a 
scliool  of  Mackerel. 

In  common  with  his  larger  congeners,  the  Mackerel 
1^  strictly  pelagic — he  has  no  use  for  the  bottom  at  all. 
it  is  even  said  by  naturalists  that  the  Mackerel  spawns 


i=. 


■  1.' 


26o 


The   Mackerel 


in  the  open  sea,  which  hardly  seems  credible,  even  in 
view  of  our  ignorance  as  to  where  the  Coryphaena  and 
bonito  perform  this  most  indispensable  function. 
have  assigned  to  them  the  Sargasso  weed  as  a  spawning- 
place  for  several  reasons,  chief  among  which  is  the 
vast  amount  of  varied  spawn  which  is  to  be  found  in 
it ;  but  to  credit  a  tish  like  the  Mackerel,  which 
appears  in  such  illimitable  numbers,  with  casting;  its 
ova  haphazard  upon  the  ocean  with  its  ever-shifting 
currents,  seems  a  stretch  of  the  scientific  imagination 
quite  unreceivable.  Moreover,  while  it  might  be 
imaginable  of,  say,  the  Coryphaena,  whose  numbers 
are  not  great  as  compared  with  other  fish,  and  who 
never  frequent  shallow  waters,  it  is  not,  it  cannot  be, 
so  of  the  Mackerel,  which  is  never  seen  at  any  great 
distance  from  land,  and  has  its  pick  of  all  the  most 
favourable  spawning  grounds  as  near  the  surface  as 
it  needs. 

Unlike  the  herring,  who  never  comes  near  the  land, 
except  in  the  multitudinous  companionship  of  the 
school,  the  Mackerel  are  fond  of  roaming  about  quite 
independently,  as  if  at  times  the  restraint  of  the  school 
galled  them,  and  they  needed  to  run  loose  for  a  little 
while,  chasing  their  prey  on  their  own  account.  ThcM' 
independent  Mackerel  give  splendid  sport,  bitiiii: 
readily  at  a  hook  baited  with  a  piece  of  red  rag  or  a 
strip  of  the  silvery  skin  of  a  Mackerel's  belly,  towed 
through  the  water  at  a  brisk  rate  behind  a  boat. 
A  fairly  heavy  lead  is  necessary  to  keep  the  bait 
sufficiently  deep;  if  towed  along  the  surface,  the 
fish  will  not  bite.  There  is  no  need  for  skill  in  baiting 
the  hook,  if  the  strip  of  skin  be  two  inches  long  and 
half  an  inch  wide,  it  is  sufficient  just  to  hang  it  on  the 
hook  by  piercing  one  end,  tlie  fish  being  so  ravenous 
as  to  gorge  hook  and  all  in  its  spring.     These  tish 


i;.\Ki"isii  AMI  iioKsi-:  M.\cKi-:i;i:i.  swimmi.nc, 

SIODAIKI.V    l.N    KUO.NT  OK  Till':   SCHOOL. 


»^ 


The  Mackerel  Guide 


261 


hkon  with  the  hook  ahvnys  command  a  higher  price 
th  in  tliosc  caught  in  nets,  for  some  curious  reason 
wliicli  I  do  not  pretend  to  understand. 

So  magnificently  beautiful  is  the  appearance 
of  a  school  of  Mackerel  on  a  calm  day  when  they  rise 
to  the  surface  in  brilliant  sunshine,  that  even  the 
mint  hardened  fisherman  is  moved  by  it,  and  if  the 
un>liadod  eye  should  catch  the  reflected  radiance  of 
the  congregated  millions  as  they  turn,  it  will  feel  a 
spism  of  pain — the  sight  is  too  vivid  for  comfortable 
vision.  Over  those  closely  packed  masses  range,  ir 
screaming  fussiness,  flocks  of  sea-birds,  busily  looking 
for  smaller  fish  fleeing  before  the  Mackerel,  for  it 
must  be  but  a  very  small  individual  that  can  be 
ettectually  dealt  with  by  a  gull  or  even  a  cormorant. 

Swimming  sedately  in  front  of  the  school  may  often 
be  seen  a  quaintly  shaped  fish,  called  by  the  fishermen 
the  '  Mackerel  Guide,'  or  Gar-fish.  It  is  a  long,  slender 
mature,  attaining  in  its  full  development  a  length  of 
m  arly  four  feet,  and  a  thickness  of  a  man's  fore-arm. 
Its  skin,  while  without  the  IMackerel  markings,  has 
the  same  sheeny  iridescence  and  almost  entire  absence 
of  scales,  which  seems  to  mark  it,  in  spite  of  its  dis- 
similarity of  form,  as  one  of  the  Mackerel  family. 
Rut  its  chief  peculiarity  is  its  long,  slender  bill,  like 
like  that  of  a  snipe,  but  furnished  with  closely  set 
riiws  of  needle-like  teeth. 

For  all  its  elegance  it  is  but  a  poorly  flavoured 
fish,  and  though  frequently  seen  in  fishmongers' 
shops  is  little  in  demand  except  as  a  curiosity.  Another 
strange  possession  of  this  fish  is  its  blue  bones,  which, 
when  the  f;sh  is  cooked,  contrast  most  strangely  with 
tlie  white  flesh.  Its  association  with  the  Mackerel 
mu^t  be  pure  coincidence,  for  I  have  seen  it  in  parts 
of  the  world  where,  although  some  members  of  the 


St: 


'  J7y 


262 


The  Mackerel 


-y^r 


Mackerel  family  were  to  be  found,  as  is  the  case  almost 
everywhere,  there  were  certainly  none  of  the  fish 
from  which  the  whole  family  takes  its  name.  I  have 
cc.ught  the  Gar-fish  in  the  West  Indies,  in  Madagascar, 
where  there  is  to  be  found  a  curious  variety,  having 
only  one  long  mandible,  with  the  mouth  on  the  upper 
part  of  it  in  the  head,  like  a  little  trap-door  in  the  head. 
The  largest  specimens  I  have  ever  seen  were  in  Zanzibar, 
where,  around  the  guardship  '  London,'  they  would 
lie  lazily  sunning  themselves,  perfectly  secure  from 
molestation,  because  the  crew  were  strictly  forbidden 
to  meddle  with  fish  of  any  kind,  for  fear  of  cholera  or 
poisoning. 

The  old  naturalists  believed  that  the  Mackerel 
roamed  as  far  afield  as  does  the  albacore,  very  much 
as  they  imagined  the  herring  to  do  ;  but  it  has  been 
found  that,  as  with  the  herring,  the  Mackerel  only 
retires  into  the  deep  water  off  shore  for  feeding  purposes 
at  certain  seasons  of  the  year,  whence  it  comes  in 
such  amazing  numbers  during  the  summer.  Occasion- 
ally there  are  found  swimming  amicably  with  the 
ordinary  fish  a  number  of  much  larger  individuals, 
known  as  Horse-mackerel,  which  are  so  coarse  and 
poorly  flavoured  as  to  be  almost  unfit  for  food.  These 
have  also  a  very  bad  reputation,  with  what  reason  as 
far  as  our  coasts  are  concerned  I  am  unable  to  say, 
for  being  poisonous,  as  has  also  the  delicate  little 
fish  known  as  the  Lady  Mackerel,  a  creature  pretty 
enough  to  be  made  a  pet  of,  like  goldfish.  The  Horse- 
mackerel  of  St.  Helena  and  certain  West  Indian  ports 
is,  I  know,  poisonous,  and  should  never  be  eaten ; 
but  this  must  be  attributable  to  its  food. 

I  would  here  remark  in  passing  that,  while  all  raw 
fish  and  meat  is  susceptible  of  being  poisoned  by  the 
direct  rays  of  the  tropical  moon,  the  Mackerel  family 


The  Baleful  Mccn 


26 


,re  eNroptionally  so.  I  have  known,  for  instance, 
\  l,onit,.  hung  up  under  a  boat  where  the  moon  s 
rivs  could  not  possibly  have  reached  it  for  more  than 
an  hour,  to  become  utterly  unfit  for  food,  havmg  a 
m<.st  foul  taste,  wliile  it  smelt  as  fresh  as  ever.  Ihis 
poi.onous  action  of  the  moon  upon  raw  flesh  or  fish  is 
derided  by  some  as  being  a  fable,  as  also  is  the  painful 
■illliction  known  to  seamen  as  moon-blindness;  but 
'thrre  are  certainly  no  two  facts  better  known  to, 
or  more  firmly  established  among,  deep-water  sailors 

than  these. 

The  Mackerel  is  fairly  plentiful  on  the  American 
coasts,  though  not  in  such  amazing  numbers  as  over 
here.  Not  that  they  need  it,  having  such  stupendous 
abundance  of  other  fish. 

It  is  there  salted  down  in  kits  and  sent  all  over 
the  country,  but  salted  Mackerel  needs  an  American 
palate,  educated  to  the  flavour  of  brine,  to  appreciate 
it  I  have  before  noted  how  greedily  all  the  Mackerel 
family  absorb  salt,  making  it  almost  impossible, 
once  the  salt  has  entered  the  tissues  of  the  fish,  to 
extract  it  again  so  as  to  make  the  fish  eatable.  But, 
after  all,  that  is  purely  a  matter  of  taste,  and  it  is 
certain  that  salted  Mackerel  are  in  high  favour  with 
our  cousins  oversea. 

And  now  we  come  to  the  consideration  of  *he 
giant  T^Iackerel  known  as  the  Sword-f  '1,  or  Lance-fish, 
as  he  should  more  properly  be  called,  since  the  bone 
of  the  upper  jaw  which  is  elongated  into  a  weapon  is 
rounded  and  tapering  to  a  point,  much  more  like  a 
!  mce  than  is  the  flat  weapon  known  as  a  sword.  It 
i.  somewhat  of  a  relief  to  take  up  the  history  of  a 
creature  with  some  individuality,  after  dealing  with 
f.sh  that  congregate  in  countless  millions  hke  the 
iierrings  and  mackerel  and  certainly  among  all  fish 


264 


The   Mackerel 


there  nrc  none  wliosc  livis  ;iiv  more  rnm;intir  thnn  tli  it 
of  tlip  great  Xipliids.  It  must  be  jiremiseil  tliat  tlurr 
are  several  varieties  of  Xipiiins  ran.^int;  theoreans  of  tlir 
world,  but  the  one  I  am  btst  arciuainted  with  is  the 
Indian  Ocean  \;uiety,  of  which  a  spUiulid  specimen 
may  be  seen  in  the  lish  gallery  at  the  Natural  History 
Museum  at  South  Kensington. 

The  Sword-f.sh,  whose  catching  is  quite  a  recognisrd 
industry  on  the  New  luigland  Coast,  is  a  dull-hutd 
monster,  ranging  from  one  to  two  hundredweight, 
and  frequenting  those  waters  in  fairly  large  numbers. 
He  is  taken  by  harj^ooning,  the  striker  standing  in 
a  little  '  pulpit '  erected  on  the  extreme  point  of  the 
bow.  It  is  good  sport,  if  a  bit  rough,  but  a  hard  and 
precarious  way  of  getting  a  living.  As  far  as  I  am 
aware  this  is  the  only  part  of  the  world  wliere  the 
pursuit  of  the  Sword-tish  is  engaged  in  regularly  and 
systematically,  everywhere  else  the  giant  mackerel 
being  left  severely  alone,  to  pursue  his  triumphant 
way  among  the  sea  people,  inspiring  a  terror  among 
them  which  he  can  never  feel,  for  there  are  none  to 
make  hmi  afraid. 

By  reason  of  the  terrible  weapon  he  carries  before 
him,  and  his  amazing  speed  and  dexterity  in  using 
it,  he  has  always  been  the  veritable  ruler  of  all  deep-sea 
fish,  and  the  ruthless  slayer  of  even  the  sea-shouldering 
whale.  Only  the  sperm  whale  proves  too  doughty  a 
foe  for  him  to  attack  lightly,  although  I  believe  there 
are  instances  on  record  where  he  has  successfully 
attacked  cachalot  cows.  Before  passing  on  to  a  brief 
consideration  of  the  career  of  a  tj-pical  Xiphias,  I 
would  like  to  say  that  my  reason  for  calling  the  albacore 
the  king  of  the  deep-sea  fish  was  on  account  of  his 
size,  as  well  as  number  and  universality  of  range. 
There  is  no  doubt  that  in  courage  and  agility  the 


The   Birthplace   of  Xiphias      265 


Si'Li.n   is   ma'^tor  of  rvrn   thn   albacore,    tliou^^'h   ii 


a\t'ia 


•'0  si/o   inu 


h   inferior. 


'11 


le  shark   again,  w 


hile 


f,ir  su]i('iioi 


to  tlic  albacore  in  jioiiit  of  si/e,  is  in  the 


t  place  hardly  to  bt-  classod  with  lish  proper,  being 


.1   and    fir^h. 


rUlier  an  intermediary  between  mamma 
.\[  any  rate  I  still  hold  the  albaef)rc  the  king  of  all 
\\A\,  while  purposing  to  do  full  justice  to  the  claims 
.  f  the  Xipliici'i. 

To  a  sheUered  nook  of  the  Maldive  Island  reef 
ha'^es  there  entered  on  a  day  a  little  company  of  Sword- 
Ibh,  and  sauntering  inquisitively  around,  seemed  to 
survey  with  deepest  interest  e\ery  cranny  of  the 
wDnderful  plare.  Tt  was  a  triangular  area  of  dazzling 
white  sand,  almost  exactly  level,  about  two  acres 
in  extent  and  buttressed  on  all  sides  except  just  at  the 
iipcx  of  the  triangle,  by  almost  vertical  walls  of  live 
rural.  Its  floor  was  about  twenty  fathoms  below 
the  surface,  which,  shut  in  from  the  breakers  by  massive 
r.iniiiarts  of  rock,  received,  as  if  on  a  sapphire  mirror, 
the  rays  of  the  trojii'-al  sun,  and  transmitted  them  in 
,ill  lovely  hues  down  to  the  silvern  floor.  Only  a  few 
small  fish  flitted  stealthily  to  and  fro  over  the  smooth 
s.ind,  or  dodged  in  or  out  of  the  interstices  of  the  coral, 
on  the  never-ending  hunt  for  food.  Rut  when  they 
saw  the  majestic  forms  of  the  Sword-fish  come  gliding 
in  they  fled,  anywhere  out  of  that  dread  com- 
pany, whose  presence  spelt  death  to  them  if  they 
remained. 

The  new-comers  were  twelve  in  number,  ten  females 
and  two  males,  and  having  completed  their  leisurely 
survey  of  the  place  and  finding  it  apparently  well 
suited  to  their  purpose,  they  glided  gently  over  the 
bottom,  waving  their  broad  pectoral  and  ventral  fins 
t^ently,  as  if  they  were  still  further  smoothing  the 
white  sand.     Having  apparently  settled  matters  to 


266 


The  Mackerel 


their  liking,  the  deposition  of  the  ova  began,  and  was 
carried  on  intermittently  for  the  best  part  of  'wo  days, 
the  male  fish  apparently  keeping  severe  guard,  and 
maintaining  a  strict  supervision  over  all  the  proceedings. 
At  last  the  task  was  over,  the  females  languidly  made 
for  the  exit,  while  the  males  lingered  over  the  spots 
which  the  females  had  quitted,  as  if  loth  to  leave  them, 
until,  as  if  alarmed  at  the  prospect  of  losing  touch 
with  their  consorts,  tlie  two  great  fish  gave  each  a 
sweep  or  two  in  the  clear  water  with  their  tails,  and  shot 
through  the  entrance  between  the  towering  bastions 
of  rock  as  arrows  flee  from  the  bow. 

In  an  hour  they  had  rejoined  the  females,  guided 
by  unerring  instinct  in  their  track,  and  placing  them- 
selves at  the  head  of  the  little  company  sped  onward 
in  search  of  food,  their  long  fast  having  made  them 
furious  with  hunger.  Presently  they  fell  in  with  a 
great  school  of  bonito,  who,  taken  by  surprise,  became 
utterly  demoralised  with  fear,  and  huddling  together 
in  one  compact  mass  permitted  the  ravenous  monsters 
to  dash  again  and  again  into  their  midst,  with  such 
velocity  as  to  split  sometimes  four  bodies  into  fragments 
at  one  blow.  Such  fragments  were  not  immediately 
devoured,  but  when  the  slaughter  was  over  the  Sword- 
fish  swam  hither  and  thither,  gorging  themselves  in 
leisurely  fashion  upon  the  dismembered  bodies  of 
their  cousins,  until,  surfeited,  they  turned  away  and 
left  the  befouled  area  to  a  shoal  of  small  scavenger-^, 
which  had  during  the  great  meal  kept  respectfully 
at  a  c.istance. 

But  now  let  us  return  to  the  spawning  ground. 
There  upon  the  sper:kless  floor  of  sand  lay  evenly 
spread  countless  thousands  of  eggs,  each  large  as  :i 
marrowfat  pea,  and  almost  invisible  by  reason  of  thou 
pearly   transparency.     The   dark   spot  in  each,  tli;it 


The  Perils  of  the  Ova       267 


slionld  have  made  them  visible,  was  in  every  case  in 
the  lower  half  of  the  pearly  globule,  which  was  half 
hidden  in  the  soft  sand  Very  gently  the  warm  current 
plided  over  them,  so  gently  that  no  ripple,  even  the 
faintest,  disturbed  their  repose  or  the  fecundating  opera- 
tions going  on  within  them.  But  here  and  there  a 
tiny  fish  almost  matching  the  sand  in  colourlessness 
swam  invisibly  along  the  pearly  rows,  culling  here 
and  there  a  delightful  morsel  in  the  shape  of  an  ovule 
a  little  plumper  than  its  neighbours.  And  though 
these  ghostly  visitors  were  very  small  their  appetite 
was  amazingly  developed,  for  each  of  them  was 
responsible  for  the  disappearance  of  some  dozens  of 
eggs  in  the  course  of  an  hour  Oi  two's  swim,  which, 
considering  that  none  of  the  depredators  were  more 
than  six  inches  long,  was  evidence  of  extreme  voracity. 
Now  and  then  a  bright  shadow  would  glide  phantom- 
like through  the  clear  space,  apparently  just  evolved 
out  of  nothingness,  there  was  a  moment's  contact 
between  it  and  one  of  the  egg-eaters,  and,  presto, 
the  latter  had  disappeared,  as  does  a  bubble  when  it 
bursts.  And  thus  the  balance  of  Nature  was  adjusted, 
for  this  is  only  a  specimen  of  the  constant  iotercnange 
of  commodities  going  on. 

The  enemies  of  the  hatching  eggs  were,  indeed, 
so  numerous  even  in  this  sequestered  spot,  that  as  the 
days  went  by  their  numbers  dwindled  to  such  an  extent 
that  it  seemed  almost  an  impossibility  that  any  of 
thorn  should  survive  till  the  emergence  of  the  fry. 
Even  the  tiny  crabs,  which  are  ubiquitous,  although 
some  of  them  were  less  than  half  an  inch  across  the 
carapace,  were  continually  employed  in  lugging  away 
the  savoury  morsels  to  their  home  crannies  beneath 
the  rocks,  like  ants  carrying  away  provender  for 
storage,     They  were  frequently  sucked  in,  egg  and  all, 


■> 

■3 


268 


The  Mackerel 


by  wandorinpj  fish  during  these  predatory  journeys, 
but  their  exit  from  one  stage  of  usefulness  into  another 
was  so  sudden  and  easy  that  no  one  could  connect 
any  idea  of  tragedy  with  it. 

Still,  in  spite  of  all  the  influences  that  were  arrayed 
against  them,  and  as  a  proof  of  their  amazing  nimibers, 
there  came  a  day  when  thousands  of  tiny  fish  suddenly 
appeared,  p.s  if  at  a  given  signal,  each  carrying  \i'ith 
it  attached  by  a  cord  the  yolk  of  the  egg  it  had  just 
quitted,  upon  which  it  would  subsist  for  the  next 
forty-eight  hours.  And  never  during  its  career  was 
the  fish  in  such  danger  of  sudden  extinction  as  now, 
when,  about  in  full  view  of  hungry  enemies,  the  attached 
yolk  added  to  its  conspicuousness  and  hampered  its 
movements,  and  it  seemed  a  m.inifest  impossibility 
for  it  to  escape.  Certainly  the  thinning  out  of  the 
young  Sword-fish  now  readied  i  most  acute  stage, 
for  not  one  in  a  hundred  survived.  Yet  all  this 
selection  and  survival  of  the  fittest  had  been  arranged 
with  unerring  wisdom  and  accuracy — not  one  of  those 
tiny  creatures  was  devoured  without  its  going  being 
according  to  plan. 

In  what  out-of-the-way  holes  and  corners  the 
young  fry  spent  their  early  days,  upon  what  tiny 
morsels  of  food  they  fed  and  grew  strong,  and  what 
amazing  and  multitudinous  hairbreadth  escapes  they 
had  before  attaining  to  the  moderate  size  of  one  foot 
in  length — all  this  proportion  of  their  life  history  is 
hidden  from  us.  When  next  we  meet  with  tlicm  they 
have  grown  sturdy,  predaceous  and  swift.  Although 
only  a  foot  or  so  long,  they  have  already  de\eIoped 
many  of  tlie  qualities  which  will  presently  make  them 
the  undoubted  rulers  of  the  fishy  world,  yet  at  this 
age  they  have,  allied  to  their  undoubted  ferocity, 
a    large    amount    of    caution    which    prevents    them 


The  Young  Warrior  269 


allowing  another  species  of  fish  larger  than  themselves, 
aiul  tlurefore   a  possible  enemy,   to  come   too  near. 
Already   they  have   taken   to   that   semi-independent 
mode  of  life  which  is  the  preparation  for  their  full- 
grown    loneliness— they    do    not    associate  with  one 
another  closely,  although  there  are  usually  a  goodly 
company  of  them  within  communicating  distance  of 
each    other.     Henceforward    their    progress    towards 
maturity    is    rapid.     F-:h    day   sees    them    essaying 
some  new  feat  of  endurance,  some  fresh  act  of  aggression 
towards    other    fish,    which    gains   for   them,    besides 
accelerated  growth,  increasing  confidence  in  their  own 
wonderful  powers,  such  as  nothing  but  the  exercise 
of  those  powers  can  give. 

It  is  now  time  to  single  out  one  splendid  young 
specimen  from  the  flock.     He  is  a  yard  in  length, 
exclusive  of  his  oword,  which  protrudes  from  his  upper 
jaw  about  nine  inches.     Every  fibre  of  his  comely 
body  is   surcharged  with  nervous  energy— to  watch 
him  balanced  in  the  still  blue,  every  fm  extended  but 
without  a  suspicion  of  movement,  even  of  life,  save 
in  the  glare  of  the  brilliant  eyes  or  the  glowing  hues 
of  the  body,  is  to  gain  a  great  idea  of  latent  power. 
No  ancient  warrior  was  ever  uphfted  with  haughtier 
pride  in  his  battle  plumes  than  Xiphias  in  his  magnifi- 
cent   dorsal-fin,    which    stands    erect,    blazing    with 
brightest  blue,  from  his  head  to  his  tail.     It  will  be 
noticed  that  now  he  has  entirely  forsaken,  as  disdaining 
it,  the  shelter  of  intricate  reefs,  no  longer  does  he 
creep  warily,  at  several  fathoms'  depth,  from  one  point 
of  refuge  to  another.  No,  at  last  he  has  come  out  in 
the  open   prepared   to  assert   his  position   before   all 
his  world,  impelled  toereto  by  an  innate  force,  of  which 
he  knows  nothing  save  its  effect  upon  him. 

As   he   hes   there   apparently   immobile,   there   is 


5" 


270 


The  Mackerel 


communicated  to  him  by  a  series  of  vibrations  the 
presence  near  at  hand  of  some  creatures.almost  certainly 
enemies,  but  possibly  victims.  An  almost  impercepti- 
ble flash  of  the  beautiful  tail,  a  quiver  of  all  the  fins, 
and  like  a  gleam  of  light  he  has  sped  forward  to  see. 
It  is  a  Httle  band  of  porpoises,  perfectly  harmless  to 
fish  like  himself,  but  the  native  blood-thirst  is  awak- 
ened, the  hthe  tail  sweeps  scythe-like  from  side  to 
side,  and  in  a  moment  he  has  launched  himself  at  the 
flat  black  flank  of  a  sea-pig,  in  which  his  sword  buries 
itself  up  to  his  eyes  nearly.  With  a  perfectly  indescrib- 
able movement  he  sterns  clear,  describes  a  great 
circle,  and,  in  spite  of  the  great  speed  of  the  terrified 
and  deeply  wounded  mammal,  again  b'lries  his  weapon 
deep  in  its  vitals.  But  then,  upon  the  slackening  of 
the  porpoise's  speed  consequent  upon  the  tremendous 
drain  of  blood,  the  rest  of  the  sea-pigs  swarm  round, 
made  ravenous  by  the  smell,  the  sight,  the  taste  of 
blood.  And  soon  ^'-ere  is  a  horrible  cannibal  feast 
going  on,  brothe  iring  brother  into  fragments, 
while  like  some  uestr  )ying  demon  the  infuriated 
Xiphias  wheels  and  stabs  incessantly  without  obtaining 
any  of  the  spoil  for  himself,  except  a  taste  of  the  blood, 
which  only  seems  to  increase  his  hunger. 

That  onslaught  was  a  great  mistake,  involving 
as  it  did  such  a  waste  of  energy  without  any 
resultant  reward.  But  the  young  Sword-fish  can 
only  learn  by  the  action  of  the  twin  teachers  of  ex- 
perience and  instinct,  and  the  lesson  just  received 
is  in  nowise  lost.  In  future,  except  for  she-  love 
of  destruction,  he  will  not  attack  such  creatures  as 
he  cannot  devour.  So  for  a  long  time  he  ranges  the 
warm  tropical  seas  proudly  slaying  and  devouring  all 
that  he  needs  to  assist  him  in  his  rapid  development, 
until  at  last  we  behold  him,  eighteen  feet  long,  with  a 


The   Thirst  for  Blood         27 1 

weight  of  four  hundred  pounds  and  a  sword  nearly 
two  feet  in  length. 

He  is  now  practically  immune  from  pursuit  or 
damage  by  any  of  the  deep-sea  folk,  unless  he  sleep 
and  let  the  wily  shark  slip  up  from  beneath  and  snatch 
a  ghastly  mouthful  from  his  middle.  Or  the  saw-tish 
fzlide  along  and  rip  him  from  end  to  end.  But  while 
these  dangers  are  very  real,  they  are  seldom  experienced. 
As  a  rule,  the  watchfulness  and  wakefulness  of  such 
a  sea  denizen  as  the  Sword-fish  secures  him  from 
surprise.  And  the  shark,  no  matter  how  hungry, 
must  be  quite  sure  of  his  prey  before  venturing  his 
cowardly  carcase  in  such  an  enterprise. 

As  the  Xiphias  grows  to  his  full  size  he  becomes 
aggressively  valiant.     Unlike  most  of  the  sea  people, 
who  only  hunt  for  food,  and  that  obtained  keep  peace, 
the    Sword-fish    longs,    apparently    with    irresistible 
desire,  for   some  foe  worthy   of   his  attack.     This  it 
IS  that  impels  him  to  launch  himself  like  some  living 
torpedo  at  the  vast  bulk  of  the  whale,  for  the  sheer 
savage  delight  of  stabbing  viciously  again  and  yet 
again  at  the  yielding  living  mass  before  him,  even  if, 
as  m  the  case  of  the  enormous  bowhead,  with  its  two 
feet    thickness    of    blubber,    he    cannot    draw    blood. 
To  bear  away,  impaled  by  one  swift  and  terrible  blow, 
the  newly  born  calx  from  beneath  its  mother's  pro- 
tecting arm  is  a  supreme  delight,  and  one  too  that 
yields  solid  results  in  the  shape  of  food,  for  the  tender 
body  of  a  young  \/hale  is  easily  divided  by  repeated 
blo'-s  of  the  sword. 

unt  this  fiercely  aggressive  spirit  has  its  drawbacks 
too.  As,  for  instance,  when  the  Xiphias  attacks  a 
'^perm  whale,  and,  meeting  the  impervious  mass  of 
tlie  head,  rebmmds  helplessly,  to  be  caught  before 
icmvery   between    the    huge    mammal's   lethal   jaws 


272 


The  Mackerel 


and  devoured.  Or,  when  hurling  itself  against  the 
hull  of  some  becalmed  ship,  it  falls,  with  skull  shattered 
to  fragments  against  the  steel,  by  the  force  of  that 
tremendous  impact.  That  this  is  no  freak  of  the 
imagination  may  be  proved  by  an  examination  of  the 
sword  of  a  Xiphias  shown  in  the  Natural  History 
Museum  of  London,  which  is  driven  eighteen  inches 
through  solid  oak  planking  and  beam.  It  needs 
little  calculation  to  show  what  the  effect  upon  the 
fish  would  have  been  had  that  ship  been  of  steel  instead 
of  oak.  And  there  is  very  little  doubt  that  such  an 
occurrence  is  common  enough,  one  of  the  few  ways 
in  which  the  sword-fish  comes  by  his  end,  except 
by  reason  of  his  failing  powers.  Then,  indeed,  the 
scavengers  of  the  deep,  swift  to  note  the  waning  forces 
of  their  great  enemy,  make  a  determined  onslaught 
upon  him  and  save  him  the  misery  of  a  lingering  old 
age.  This  latter,  it  may  be  remarked,  seldom  falls  to 
the  lot  of  any  deep-sea  ( itizen.  Even  an  aged  cachalot, 
we  may  assume,  is  not  allowed  to  die  of  senile  decay. 

A  pleasant  little  member  of  the  mackerel  family, 
called  the  Pomfret  or  Brama,  has  always  been  an 
especial  favourite  of  mine.  The  peculiarity  about 
them  is  that  they  only  make  their  appearance  near 
a  vessel  in  a  calm.  In  the  profoundest  solitudes 
and  depths  of  ocean  these  essentially  sociable  liitle 
fish,  having  suddenly  been  materialised  as  it  were 
out  of  the  surrounding  app  rently  vacant  blue,  will 
presently  be  discovered  clinging  closely  to  the  side 
of  the  ship,  generally  about  the  run  and  around  the 
rudder.  They  will  occasionally  venture  alongside 
as  far  as  the  bow,  if  the  ship  be  making  no  headway 
at  all  and  the  sea  be  like  glass,  but  they  exhibit  the 
utmost  unwillingness  to  leave  the  side  of  the  ship 
for  a  single  moment. 


The  Most  Sociable  Fish      273 

Whether  they  come  for  protection,  or  food,  or  both, 
I  have  no  means  of  knowing,  but  their  appearance 
so  far  from  land  and  over  such  profound  depths  is 
certainly  very  curious.  Tliey  take  a  bait  of  meat 
readily  and  are  very  sweet  eating,  although  I  never 
caught  one  larger  than  half  a  pound  weight.  In 
sh.ipe  they  rcsL'inl)le  a  perch,  but,  as  with  mackerel, 
there  is  an  almost  total  absence  of  scales  and,  as  with 
the  albacore,  there  are  some  horny  conical  little  plates 
arr.inged  along  the  posterior  third  of  the  lateral  line. 
.ill  around  Australasia  there  are  to  be  found  congeners 
of  this  little  tish,  called  by  sailors  Cavalle.  They  grow 
to  a  large  size  compared  with  the  Brama,  being  often 
caught  twenty-five  pounds  in  weight.  Also  many  of 
them  are  more  shield-like — wider,  that  is,  in  proportion 
to  their  length.  They  are  almost  entirely  silvern  in 
colour,  and  the  effect  when,  in  hauling  one  up  on  a 
brilliantly  sunny  day,  it  suddenly  turns  its  broadside 
to  the  sun  is  perfectly  dazzling  to  the  eyes.  They 
are  a  splendidly  game  tish,  as  well  as  being  very  good 
eating. 

Of  the  Echineis  Rcmora,  or  Sucking-fish,  of  the 
mackerel  tribe,  I  cannot  speak  positively.  I  have 
ne\er  seen  one,  although  of  the  shark-like  sucking- 
fish  I  have  seen  many  hundreds  and  caught  many 
scores.  According  to  ichthyologists,  however,  it  is 
fairly  plentiful  and  acts  in  precisely  the  same  way 
as  does  the  Remora,  of  which  I  have  written  before 
at  considerable  length. 

It  must  not  be  imagined,  because  of  the  con- 
clusion of  this  chapter,  that  I  have  dealt  in  any  way 
exhaustively  with  the  Scombridae.  As  I  premised, 
only  a  few  fairly  well-known  specimens  could  be  dealt 
With  in  the  space  at  my  disposal,  while  the  family  is 
the  largest  of  all  known  in  the  mighty  ocean. 

18 


CHAPTER  XX 


COD 

THE  Cod  family  of  the  Deep-Sea  People  is,  with 
scarcely  a  doubt,  the  most  valuable  to  mankind 
of  any.    Whether  we  consider  its  readiness  to 
be  caught,  in  spite  of  the  deep  and  stormy  seas  which 
it  inhabits,  the  vast    range  of  its  habitat,  which  is 
almost  co-extensive  with  the  shores  tenanted  by  the 
white  race,  the  ease  with  which  it  may  be  cured  for 
keeping,  and  the  esteem  in  which  it  is  held  by  the 
dwellers  in  all  Roman  Catholic   countries,  or    study 
the  romantic  character  of  the  fishery,  we  must  find 
the  natural  history  of  the  Cod  of  absorbing  interest. 
And  that  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  the  Cod  itself  is  by 
no  means  a  romantic  fish,     He  is  net  beautiful  by 
any  means,  his  flesh,  thou£  h  white  and  flaky,  and 
under  proper  treatment  sutnciently  firm,  has  not  the 
flavour  possessed  by  many  other  of  our  edible  fishes. 
His  habits  are  regular,  he  's  most  accommodating  in 
the  matter  of  food,  and  as  to  what  he  will  take  as  bait 
on  a  hook— I  have  caught  Cod  in  New  Zealand  for 
experiment  with  a  lump  of  coal  tied  to  a  piece  of  spun 
yam.     On  all  of  which  accounts  the  Gadidae  family 
have  claims  upon  our  notice,  which  are  not  surpassed 
by  those  of  any  other  inhabitants  of  the  deep  and 
wide  sea.     Dr.  Hartwig  ranks  the  Cod  next  in  impor- 
tance to  the  herring  in  its  importance  to  man,  but 
one  may  be  permitted  to  disagree  with  him,  without 
questioning  his  great  authority  and  wide  research. 

»7* 


The  Chief  Food  Fish        275 

At  any  rate,  I  have  ventured  to  put  the  Cod  first, 
and  firmly  beheve  that  I  am  justified  in  so  doing. 

To  the  Cod  family  belong  also  the  Haddock,  the 
Whiting,  the  Ling,  the  Pollock,  and  the  Rocklings, 
all  valuable  food  fishes,  but  especially  the  Haddock, 
which,  in  its  smoked  form,  runs  the  smoked  herring 
very  closely  in  its  hold  on  popular  favour  in  our  own 
country.  Naturalists  also  include  the  Hake,  and 
I  suppose  they  are  right,  although  for  my  part  I  fail 
to  see  anything  about  a  Hake  which  can  give  him  a 
clum  to  any  relationship  with  the  Cod,  and  therefore 
shall  refuse  to  say  anything  about  him  here. 

The  principal  and  most  valuable  characteristic 
of  the  Cod  is  its  amazing  fecundity.  It  has  been 
calculated  that  a  single  fish  will  deposit  nine  millions  of 
eggs,  a  number  which  in  its  vastness  simply  bewilders 
us,  for  we  cannot  at  all  realise  what  such  a  mighty 
111  1st  means.  Yet  so  numerous  are  the  natural  checks 
placed  upon  the  too  rapid  increase  of  the  Cod,  that 
there  are  never  too  many  for  the  seas  they  frequent 
to  contain  and  provide  for  ;  in  fact,  it  is  safe  to  guess 
that  out  of  those  nine  millions  of  eggs  probably  not 
mr.re  than  as  many  tens  attain  to  maturity.  Around 
the  British  coasts  are  favourite  breeding  grounds 
of  the  Cod,  where  in  comparatively  shallow  waters 
he  run.  the  gauntlet  of  his  countless  foes,  escaping 
in  such  numbers  as  to  make  the  Cod-fishery  a  lucrative 
form  of  the  fishing  industry. 

But  nearly  all  Cod  and  codlings  caught  on  our 
coasts  come  to  market  to  be  sold  fresh,  except  in  Passion 
Week,  when  every  fishmonger's  shop  becomes  suddenly 
full  of  wet  salted  Cod  temptingly  folded  inside  out 
and  garnished  with  lemons.  The  Cod  lends  itself 
amicably  also  to  keeping  fresh  on  ice,  although  it 
must  be  ..linitued  that  between  Cod  freshly  caught 


276 


Cod 


and  Cod  that  hns  been  kept  fresh  in  ice  for  some  diys 
there  is  a  vast  difference,  even  if  people  who  have 
never  been  in  a  position  to  taste  both  are  exceedingly 
sceptical  of  the  fact. 

Judging  from  what  we  are  permitted  to  see  of 
his  manner  of  living  when  young  and  in  shallow  waters, 
the  Cod  passes  a  very  pleasant,  peaceful  time  of  it. 
He  is  troubled  by  no  problems  of  life,  nor  does  he 
ever  need  to  exert  himself  to  obtain  food.  Plenty  of 
it  always  seems  to  come  his  way,  and  when  one  kind 
is  exhausted  he  turns  to  another,  or  leisurely  strolls 
off,  a  few  billions  at  a  time,  to  another  feeding  ground. 
On  the  South  Coast  of  England  during  the  autumn 
codling  are  very  plentiful  ;  fishing  in  the  most  primitive 
sailor-fashion,  I  have  caught  off  the  North  Foreland 
in  an  afternoon  twenty  dozen,  every  one  of  which 
had  its  maw  literally  crammed  with  little  crabs,  making 
me  wonder  at  what  I  could  see  must  be  the  amazing 
numbers  of  these  well-known  Crustacea. 

But  sporting  fishermen  disdain  the  Cod  ;  he  gives 
no  sport.  No  finesse  is  needed  to  hook  him,  rather 
considerable  delicacy  of  touch  and  quickness  of  striking 
is  required  unless  the  fisherman  does  not  mind  ex- 
tricating his  hook  from  the  bottom  of  every  fish's 
stomach.  So  voracious  are  they  that  they  just  gorge 
the  bait,  hook  and  all ;  they  do  not  nibble.  And  when 
they  are  hooked,  except  for  a  heavy,  lumpish  pulling 
as  they  are  hauled  upward,  they  make  no  play,  which 
is  just  what  renders  them  so  welcome  to  the  fisherman 
with  his  long-lines,  trawl-lines,  or  bulters,  as  they  are 
indifferently  called,  according  to  the  place  where  they 
are  used. 

As  the  fish  mature  they  move  off  shore  into  deeper 
water,  until  fishing  for  them  becomes  heavy  labour. 
It  is  a  severe  tax  upon  tlie  strongest  physique  to  be 


Most  Easily  Caught  277 

cnntinually  hanlinR  up  heavy  fisli  from  depths  of  from 
two  to  four  huixhecl  fcrt.     And   tlicreforc  the  long- 
line  system   of   fishing   is   wilccjnicd.     It   consists   in 
having  a  hne,  say,  a  thousand  feet  in  length,  with  a 
iiook  snooded  on  by  a  short  tail  about  every  three 
feet      These  hooks  are  all  baited,  and  the  line  is  paid 
out  from  a   boat   which  is  rowed  slowly  along  until 
the   line   is   stn-trhed   along   the   bottom,   both   ends 
being  held  in  position  by  a  buoy  at  the  top  of  the 
water  and  an  anchor  or  sinker  at  the  bottom.     After 
a  certain   time   has  elapsed,   which   varies  according 
to  circumstances,  the  line  is  hauled  in  and  the  hooked 
fish,   who,   apparently   finding   themselves  unable   to 
get  away,  have  just  accepted  the  situation  with  philo- 
sophic calm  and  ceased  to  struggle,   are  disengaged 
and  dropped  into  the  boat.     Then  the  line  is  re-baited 
and  set  again,  while  the  boat  hurries  back  to  the  smack 
to  get  the  catch  packed  in  ice  so  that  it  shall  not  spoil. 
But  in  spite  of  the  marvellously  prolific  character 
of  the  Cod,  and  the  great  extent  of  sea  around  our 
coasts  which  is  exactly  fitted  to  its  needs,  there  are 
many  and  bitter  complaints  heard  among  the  fisher- 
men of  the  grave  falling  off  in  supply,  and  a  general 
idea  that  legislation  is  needed  to  conserve  the  fish 
or  it  will  be  exterminated.     Now  it  ought  to  be,  I 
tliink,  perfectly  clear  that,  in  the  case  of  such  fish  as 
Cod,  herring,  or  mackerel,  the  utmost  efforts  of  which 
man  is  capable  can  have  no  appreciable  effect  in  re- 
ducing the  numbers  of  the  fish  available  for  catching. 
Especially  when  it  is  remembered  what  incalculable 
myriads  of  these  fish  are  eaten  by  their  natural  enemies 
in  the  sea,  numbers  to  which  man's  paltry  toll  are 
but  as  it  were  the  stragglers  from  the  main  army. 
That  the  scarcity  of  Cod  around  our  coast  is  not, 
cannot  be,  due  to  over-fishing  seems  so  certain  as  to 


«i  f 


278 


Cod 


hardly  require  stating,  yet  the  fact  remains  of  the 
scarcity,  and  it  needs  to  be  accounted  for  in  some 
other  ways,  although  most  probably  if  we  did  account 
for  it  we  should  And  ourselvi  s  powerless  to  prevent 
its  increase. 

On  the  other  hand,  judging  by  what  is  to  be  seen 
on  any  morning  at  (irinisby  or  Billingsgate  during 
the  season,  the  supply  of  Haddock,  hrst  cousin  to 
the  Cod,  shows  no  sign  whatever  of  diminution.  The 
Haddock  comes  to  London  almost  direct  from  the 
sea,  whence  he  is  netted  by  trawls  in  immense  numbers, 
in  such  a  manner  as  to  make  one  feel  on  witnessing 
the  arrival  and  dispersal  of  a  consignment  as  if  they 
never  wished  to  taste  the  fish  ag.iin.  It  is,  like  all  the 
Cod  family,  of  a  naturally  slimy  character,  almost 
as  much  so  really  as  the  eel,  but  on  its  first  appearance 
from  the  sea,  multitudinously  squirming  in  the  pouch 
of  the  great  trawl  net,  shows  no  trace  of  unpleasant 
appearance.  But  then  it  is  dumped  into  the  hold 
of  the  vessel  and  almost  at  once  loses  its  cleanly  grey 
and  silver,  exchanging  it  for  a  dull,  greasy-looking 
neutral  tint.  Transferred  from  the  hold  of  the  vessel 
into  iron  tanks  each  holding  a  couple  of  tons  or  so, 
two  of  which  just  fit  on  a  fiat  railway  truck,  it  is  whisked 
off  at  full  goods  speed  to  Billingsgate,  undergoing 
on  thv;  journey  a  further  process  of  deterioration, 
aided  by  the  melting  of  the  rough  dirty  ice  with  which 
it  is  plentifully  mixed. 

At  Billingsgate  it  is  sold  by  auction  in  the  open 
street  outside  the  Custom  House  to  crowds  of  waiting 
fishmongers.  Immediately  a  purchase  is  made,  men, 
who  are  hardly  distinguishable,  by  reason  of  filth 
and  slime,  except  by  their  size,  from  the  fish  they 
stand  knee  deep  in,  shovel  the  mass  of  fish  into  the 
buyer's  cart  which  is  backed  up  to  the  wain  bearing 


The  Great  Home  of  the  Cod     279 

the  tanks.  When  the  cart  is  loaded  (it  looks  a  sinpu- 
hrly  di-gusting  cargo)  the  purchaser  rattles  off  with 
it  to  his  shop,  and  in  due  time  the  dreadfully  dirty 
mass  of  fish  passes  through  a  series  of  operations 
in  bark  premises,  often  mere  hovels  a  few  feet  square, 
and  reappears  in  windows  of  bright  '  smoked  'addicks  ' 
on  the  sloping  boards  of  the  front  shop.  But  the 
intermediate  process  does  not  bear  thinking  about, 
if  we   would   ever    eat   smoked    Haddock    again    in 

comfort. 

But  to  find  the  Cod  in  all  his  glory  it  is  necessary 
to  cross  the  Atlantic.     On  the  north-east  coasts  of 
the  United  States  and  right  along  the  Nova  Sootian 
littoral  are  found  great  areas  of  comparatively  shallow 
sea,  the  broad  Atlantic  here  allowing  the  land  to  rise 
to  within  less  than  a  dozen  fathoms  of  the  surface 
in  many  places,  and  in  one,  the  terrible  Sable  Island, 
which  hz<  well  been  named  an  ocean  graveyard,  a  long 
snarling  bank  rises  some  few  feet  above  the  surface 
and  constitutes  one  of  the  chief  dangers  of  the  stormy 
Nova  Scotian  coast.    These  banks  vary  in  area  from 
a  tiny  patch  of  some  ten  or  fifteen  square  miles  to  the 
immense  breadths  of  the  Grand  Bank  off  Newfound- 
land,  as  large  as  that  great  island,  and  at  one  spot 
culminating  in  the  world  famous  Virgin  Rocks  which 
break  in  a  gale  of  wind,  so  nearly  do  they  approach 
to  thp.  =;'"face.    I  do  not  know  that  any  calculation 
has  ever  been  made  of  the  aggregate  area  of  all  these 
North  American  banks,  but  it  must  be  some  thousands 
of  square  miles.     And  over  the  whole  of  them,  varying 
of  course  according  to  season,  roam  the  placid  Cod  in 
almost  undisputed  possession  of  the  greatest  and  most 
prolific  fishing  grounds  in  the  whole  world.     Of  course 
other  fish  are  found  around  there  too,  the  lordly  hah  out 
for  instance,  but  as  the  proportion  of  any  other  fish 


s  I 


28o 


Cod 


to  Cod  is  only  about  one  in  a  thousand  it  is  too  small 
to  be  taken  nito  account. 

Now   the  Cod   is   manifestly  not   an   adventurous 
fish.     Like   some   domestic   animals,   he   conceives  it 
to  be  his  primary  duty  to  get  fat,  and  to  that  duty 
he  gives  all  his  powers.     But  getting  fat  presupposes 
an  abundance  of  easily  obtained  food.     And  here,  if 
anywheie   in   the   world,   it   is  to  be   found.     Squid; 
how  could  I  ever  have  asked  the  question  :    '  Why 
the  squid  ?  '     As  well  ask  why  grass,  hay,  mangolds, 
or  any  of  the  herbs  and  roots  upon  which  our  domestic 
animals  raised  for  food  are  fed.     But  their  food  has 
to  be  provided  for  them  by  us,  and  sometimes  the 
providing    thereof    presents    a   very    serious    problem 
when    the    elemer's    are    unpropitious,    necessitating 
the  operations  of  commerce  on  a  gigantic  scale.     But 
the  squid    at  certain  seasons,  appear  from  their  mys- 
terious breeding  places   in  the  unsearchable   recesses 
of  ocean  in  numbers  like  the  grains  of  sand  on  the  sea- 
shore for  multitude,  and  spread  their  countless  myriads 
over  these  ocean  banks  just  where  the  Cod  can  gulp 
them  down  at  its  leisure.     Also,  and  incident;i'ly,  the 
squid  provides  ^ht    ■".  ,'ierman  with  his  best  bait,  for 
a  piece  of  tough   tentacle  properly  impaled   upon  a 
hook  is  not  easily  dislodged,  and  in  the  hands  of  an 
experienced  fisherman  such  a  bait  will  serve  for  the 
capture  of  several  fish,  no  mean  advantage  in  point 
of  time  when  the  Cod  are  biting  well. 

But  so  vast  are  the  armies  of  the  Cod  that  even 
that  mass  of  squid  is  jiresently  devoured,  all  except 
those  'vho  are,  one  would  say,  miraculously  preserved 
to  reproduce  the  needed  supply  for  next  season.  Long 
before  the  pinch  of  hunger  can  be  frit  by  the  Cod, 
however,  comes  ihe  captlui,  beautiful  little  lish  {Sulmo 
arcticus)  which  appear  to  be  the  fry  of   some   large 


Marvels  of  the  Unseen       28 1 


fish  that  is  so  prolific  that  its  surphis  billions  must 
needs  come  here  to  be  disposed  of,  lest  they  should 
become  too  numerous  and  create  a  famine  in  the  sea. 
Miiving  in  almost  solid  masses  across  the  banks  in 
certain  given  directions,  feeding  themselves  upon  the 
myriads  of  minor  creatures  with  which  the  sea  is 
everywhere  teeming,  tliey  are  met  by  the  Cod,  who 
quietly  work  their  way  through  the  shoals  eating, 
eating,  ever  eating. 

What  a  wonderful  sight  it  must  be,  could  anybody 
but  witness  it,  that  mass  of  life,  those  square  miles 
of  closely  arrayed  food  fishes  moving  slowly  from 
point  to  point  over  the  swarming  surfaces  of  those 
submarine  plateaux  !  Conceive,  if  you  can,  how  in- 
finitesimally  small,  in  comparison  with  the  area  in- 
habited by  the  Cod,  is  the  space  occupied  by  the  whole 
of  the  fishing  fleet,  would  be  the  room  taken  up  by 
all  the  fishing  fleets  of  the  world  could  they  be  collected 
there.  As  for  the  diminution  in  tlieir  numbers  made 
by  man,  it  is  so  trivial  by  comparison  with  those 
numbers,  nay  by  comparison  with  the  loll  levied  upon 
tlieni  by  enemies  of  their  own  sphere,  that  it  is  not 
worth  taking  into  account.  For  the  area  covered 
by  the  hosts  of  fish  is  so  great,  and  the  point  fished 
bv  even  a  fleet  of  vessels  is  so  infinitely  small  by  com- 
parison, that  the  capture  of  any  at  all  shows  how  closely 
crowded  they  must  be  down  there  in  the  unseen. 
And  if  the  united  catch  of  all  the  flee^  for  one  year 
\vt  re  put  together  it  wonUI  probably  be  less  than  the 
number  of  fish  swimming  at  any  given  time  during 
tlie  season  within  the  area  of  one  square  mile. 

The  '  Bank  '  fishery,  as  it  is  called,  i:>  an  intensely 
romantic,  highly  dangerous  and  terribly  hard  calling. 
Readers  of  Captains  Couragcoi:.s  will  probably  have 
realised  that  to  the  full,  as  far  as  reading  vivid  descrip- 


282 


Cod 


tion  of  a  thing  can  make  it  real  to  one's  senses.  But 
I  very  much  doubt  whether  it  is  possible  to  make 
any  landsman  realise  what  it  means  to  ride  at  anchor 
in  the  open  ocean  far  out  of  sight  of  land,  groping  in 
the  unseen  by  the  aid  of  what  becomes,  >  in  Disko 
Troop,  a  real  instinct,  for  a  dearly  won  livelihood. 
How  can  comfortable  people  ashore  realise  what  it 
means  to  be  shut  up  in  a  tiny  vessel,  anchored  out  at 
sea  in  the  track  of  the  swift,  mighty,  ocean-going 
steamships  ?  Even  on  the  clearest,  most  beautiful 
night  the  little  schooner,  with  her  glimmering  riding 
light  in  the  fore  rigging,  is  such  a  tiny  speck  upon 
the  great  lonely  sea.  But  when  the  dense  white  veil 
of  the  fog  closes  down  in  eddies  of  thickest  cloud,  so 
that  the  bow  of  the  little  craft  is  not  visible  from  her 
stem,  the  sense  of  loneliness  and  of  danger  becomes 
almost  unbearably  heightened. 

And  strangely  enough,  whereas  when  it  was  clear 
the  ocean  looked  so  wide  that  the  chances  of  one  vessel 
meeting  another  to  do  her  harm,  seemed  almost 
impossibly  remote,  in  the  smother  of  the  fog  it  is 
almost  equally  impossible  to  avoid  the  conclusion 
that  your  vessel,  like  a  magnet,  will  draw  the  ocean 
greyhound  down  upon  you,  and  sweep  you  in  one 
age-long  minute  of  agony  out  of  the  world  of  being. 
Yes,  it  is  an  adventurous  life,  and  a  splendid  set  of 
men  are  those  who  lead  it. 

I  have  never  been  more  astonished  at  the  difference 
between  my  preconceived  notions  and  the  reality, 
than  I  was  when,  on  a  visit  to  Gloucester,  Massachusetts, 
the  metropolis  of  the  Cod-fishing  industry,  I  saw  the 
fishermen  ashore.  Clean,  well,  even  fashionably 
dressed,  gentlemanly,  stalwart  men.  Perhaps  I  was 
fortunate  in  coming  across  a  picked  lot,  but  there 
they  were,  looking  as  uiJike  the  conventional  fisherman 


The  Vast  Export  of  Cod     283 

;i?  possible.  One  couM  hardly  picture  them  groping 
through  the  growling  waves  in  their  tiny  dories  on  the 
b.mks  while  laying  their  trawls,  or  covered  with 
M()(k1  and  slime,  knce-dcep  in  Cod  at  the  gutting 
and  splitting,  or  down  in  the  stifling  hold,  dimly  lighted 
by  one  feeble  lamp,  packing  the  cleaned  and  boned 
fish  in  layers  of  salt,  so  closely  that  when  full  she  rides 
almost  as  deep  a    ■    ':oal-laden. 

For  these  Cod  are  not  caught  for  immediate  use, 
nor  is  the  fisherman's  toil  confined  to  luring  them 
from  their  deep-sea  feeding  grounds  into  the  well  of 
his  vessel  or  her  ice-boxes.  He  must  needs  prepare 
his  catch  for  the  first  stage  of  their  long  journeys 
ere  they  reach  their  legitimate  goal  in  people's  stomachs 
all  over  the  world.  Time  was,  and  that  not  so  very 
long  ago,  when  ^he  Cod  on  reaching  port  were  dried 
and  sorted  according  to  size  and  quality,  then  sent 
to  their  various  destinations  packed  in  barrels  or  even 
in  loose  crates. 

From  this  method  there  was  no  change.  It  pro- 
duced the  bacallao  beloved  of  the  Spanish-speaking 
people  and  sent  to  them  all  over  the  vast  continent 
of  South  America  as  v  ell  as  to  the  mother  country 
of  Spain.  It  found  great  acceptance,  even  in  poor 
Italy,  whose  hungry  masses  can  ill  afford  to  buy 
imported  food  except  at  very  low  rates.  The  smallest, 
meanest  of  the  catch,  little  fish  of  half-a-pound  to 
two  pounds,  went  to  the  W  ,t  Indies  to  be  bought  in 
pennyworths  by  the  negroes.  Some  even  came  to 
Ireland,  with  the  Atlantic  rife  with  fish  at  her  doors. 
So  great  was  the  export  trade  in  dried  salt  Cod. 

But  now  a  cleaner,  tastier  development  of  the 
traffic  has  sprung  up.  Instead  of  making  the  succulent 
fish  look  like  slabs  of  dirty  wood,  high-smelling  and 
63  It  as  brine  itself,  the  fish  is  taken  from  the  hold  of 


284 


Cod 


the  vessel,  washed,  dried  so  that  it  docs  not  drip  ; 
that  is  all.  It  is  rarcfully  freed  from  bone  (the  sea 
process  only  ridding  it  of  the  -^lain  bones),  cut  into 
neat  squares  of  meat  tliat  have  no  skin  or  any  particle 
of  uneat  matter  attached  to  them.  A  ninnbcr,  say 
six,  of  t  se  squares  are  pressed  together,  are  neaily 
fastened  witli  string,  packed  in  a  pretty  parcel  and, 
behold,  the  clean,  newly  caught,  lightly  salted  Cod 
is  ready  fur  transportation  among  the  seventy  million 
people  of  the  United  States,  most  of  whom  are  exceed- 
ingly fond  of  '  Cod-fish  balls  '  (made  of  tish  and  potato 
and  fried  brown)  for  breakfast.  So  that  now  only 
the  inferior  fish  not  considered  good  enough  for  home 
consum})tion  is  exported. 

Practically  nothing  is  wasted  of  the  Cod.  Even 
the  offal  which  is  flung  overboard  goes  to  nourish  those 
that  remain  to  be  caught  perchance  some  other  day, 
so  that  it  cannot  be  said  to  go  unutilised.  But  such 
an  immensely  valuable  product  as  cod-liver  oil  needs 
only  mentioning  as  one  of  the  greatest  gifts  the  ocean 
makes  to  ailing  mankiiid — a  specific  in  wasting  dis- 
eases that  has  no  equal.  Even  the  swim  bladders 
and  tongues  of  the  fish  are  saved,  and,  salted  down 
in  '  kits  '  (little  tubs),  are  sent  all  over  America.  They 
look,  before  cooking,  like  pieces  of  wet  white  kid,  and 
when  ready  for  table  are  lumps  of  glutinous  jelly, 
which  need  some  getting  used  to  by  strangers  before 
they  can  be  eaten  with  comfort.  But  they  are  highly 
esteemed  in  America,  and  with  reason,  for  they  are, 
without  doubt,  a  most  nourishing  and  economical 
food.  They  are  much  too  salt  for  British  palates, 
but  the  average  American  loves  his  food  as  salt  as 
brine,  and  so  they  just  suit. 

It  may  seem  unfair  of  me  to  have  made  no  mention 
of  the  great  share  which  Canada  and  Newfoundland 


The  Southern  Cod  Banks     285 


h.tvc  in  this  amazing  liarvcst  of  the  sea,  but  no  neglect 
b  intended  or  imagined.     It  is  one  of  the  priiuij.al 
businesses  in  many  small  coast   towns,   and  without 
die  Cod  no  one  can  guess  what  would  become  of  the 
h..:dly   used    Newfoundland   lishermen.     That   much- 
K.glected  colony  of  ours  has   many  grievances,   but 
one  of  the  chief  is  that,  situated  in  the  very  middle 
of  the  most  valuable  fishery  in  the  world,  she  sees 
the  best  part  of  it  taken  away  from  her  by  others, 
and  she  is  compelled  to  bear  upon  her  flanks  the  open 
sore  of  a  French  colony,  whose  reckless  inhabitants 
are  a  positive  menace  to  her  interests,  whose  behaviour 
is  of  the  worst,  and  who  apparently  cannot  be  removea 
by  any  international  amenities  whatever. 

It  is  a  far  cry  from  Newfoundland  to  the  Cape  of 
Good  Hope  for  us,  but  not  for  the  distribution  of  fish. 
For  off  the  Cape  of  Agulhas  (which  is  the  southernmost 
point  of  Africa,  and  not,  as  is  popularly  supposed, 
the  Cape  of  Good  Hope)  and  to  the  eastv.ard  of  it, 
there  is  a  plateau  rising  from  the  sea-bed  to  within 
thirty  and  sixty  fathoms  of  the  surface,  nearly  ten 
thousand  square  miles  in  area.  This  is  known  as  the 
Agulhas  Bank,  and  is  the  chosen  resort  of  Cod  almost 
ixactly  similar  to  those  caught  on  the  Grand  Bank 
of  Newfoundland. 

But  whereas  one  place  is  the  scene  of  one  of  the 
most  lucrative  fisheries  in  the  world,  the  other  is  turned 
to  no  account  whatever.  When  people  talk  as  they 
do  occasionally  about  the  populations  of  the  world 
outgrowing  the  food  supply,  they  really  should  pause 
.nd  think  a  little  while.  It  is  interesting  to  see  how 
little  comparatively  of  the  world's  possibilities  in  the 
way  of  feeding  mankind  have  yet  been  dealt  with,  and 
,il.-,o  liow  prodigally  man  wastes  Nature's  bountiful 
gifts.    Here,  in  this  easily  accessible  portion  of  the 


286 


Cod 


sea,  where  the  weather  is  far  more  temperate  than 
off  Newfoundland,  although  the  gales  and  waves  are, 
if  anything,  more  severe,  there  are  fish  enough  to 
feed  the  whole  of  the  European  population  once  or 
twice  every  week  of  the  year. 

And    they    are    absolutely    unmolested    by    man. 
We  really  cannot  take  into  account  the  u  frequent 
saihng  ships   briefly  becalmed   on   the   bank,   whose 
crew  hurriedly  snatch  a  sample  of  this  ocean  wealth 
as   they   drift   homeward.     I    vividly  remember   the 
last  time  but  one  that  I  rounded  Cape  Agulhp=,  when 
I   was  second  mate  of  a  large   Liverpool  ship,  the 
'  Britannia.'    We  were  crossing  the  b-xnk  when,  during 
my  watch,  from  midnight  till  4  a.m.,  it  fell  a  stark 
calm.     In  anticipation  of  its  doing  so  I  had  bent  three 
hooks  on  to  the  deep-sea  lead  line,  to  which  I  had 
attached  the  hand  lead  of  seven  pounds.     I  baited  the 
hooks  with  fat  pork,  and  as  soon  as  the  vessel's  way 
ceased  I  dropped  the  line.    I  got  bottom  at  sixty-five 
fathoms,  and  only  five  minutes  after  felt  a  splendid 
tugging  at  the  line.    The  night  being  very  cold  I 
had  a  heavy  coat  on,  but  before  I  got  my  fish  on  board, 
I   wa3  streaming  with  sweat.     For  I  had  two  fish, 
one  weighing  twenty-four  pounds  and  the  other  twenty, 
while  the  seven  pounds  of  the  lead  brought  the  load 
to  nearly  half  a  hundredweight  to  be  hauled  up  through 
nearly  four  hundred  feet  of  water. 

I  dropped  my  prizes  with  a  crash  on  deck  just  over 
the  captain's  head,  and  he,  a  most  enthusiastic  fisher- 
man, was  up  with  a  couple  of  lines  in  two  minutes. 
The  deep-sea  lead-line  was  discarded  and  prope: 
tackle  used,  with  the  result  that  in  an  hour  we  had 
forty  splendid  fish,  none  under  fifteen  pounds  in  weight. 
And  the  most  singular  part  of  the  business  was  that 
those  fish  most  obligingly  followed  our  lines  up,  or 


I  turn   Fisherman  Indeed      287 

else,  which  is  hardly  thinkable,  they  were  thick  aU 
tlie  way  down,  for  the  last  few  w-  caught  nearly  at 
the  surface,  having  decreased  the  depth  to  which 
we  sunk  our  hooks  at  every  cast.  Then  came  the 
breeze,  to  which  we  made  sail  and  departed  from  that 
wonderful  fishing-ground. 

The  coasts  of  Australia  and  New  Zealand  abound 
in  fish,  but  especially  Cod,  Rockling,  or,  as  they  are 
tlicre  called.  Rock  Cod.  They  are  of  two  kinds,  the 
red  and  the  blue,  both,  I  t'link,  superior  to  the  grey 
Cod  of  our  own  seas,  but  the  blue  is  reckoned  by  far 
the  best.  In  fact,  it  fetches  nearly  double  the  price. 
Tliey  move  in  shoals  as  our  home  Cod  do,  following 
their  food,  whatever  it  may  be,  far  up  into  land-locked 
bays  and  estuaries,  as  they  do  in  Newfoundland  and 
Nova  Scotia,  v/here  I  have  seen  one  of  the  huge  native 
dogs  dive  off  a  pier  and  emerge  with  a  fine  Cod  in  his 
mouth,  which  he  proceeded  to  devour  in  leisurely 
fashion. 

This  habit  of  theirs  resulted  in  my  making  an 
extensive  acquaintance  with  them  once — the  only 
time  in  my  life  that  I  was  ever  a  '  professional '  fisher- 
man. Whaling,  of  course,  is  excluded.  I  was  stranded 
in  Port  Chalmers,  moneyless  and  unable  to  get  a  ship. 
Lounging  miserably  on  the  wharf  one  day,  an  old 
boatman   of  my   acquaintance  came   up   and   said  : 

'  Why  don't  you  go  fishing  ?  The  Cod  are  in  the 
harbour,  and  Jimmy  the  curer  round  the  flagstaff 
point  will  give  you  eighteenpcnce  a  dozen  for  all 
you  ca'rh.' 

'  But  I've  no  boat,'  said  I, '  nor  money  to  hire  one.' 

'  I'll  lend  you  a  boat,'  he  replied,  '  and  charge  you 
half-a-crown  a  day,  which  you  can  pay  me  out  of  your 
earnings.' 

I  thanked  him,  and  started;    fortunately  I  had 


288 


Cod 


lii.cs  and  hooks  ;  I  was  seldom  without  them  during 
my  scafarint;  days.  In  an  hour  I  was  well  down 
the  bay  and  had  joined  a  little  flotilla  of  boats,  whose 
occupants  were  all  busy  hauling  in  Cod.  In  five 
minutes  I  was  as  busy  as  they,  but  sorely  handicapped 
by  the  Icakiness  of  my  craft,  which  necessitated  me 
baling  with  one  liaiul  and  fishing  with  the  otlier. 
Nevertheless,  fish  we  c  so  plentiful,  and  I  was  so 
fortunate,  that  by  sunset — I  had  gone  out  at  I  p.m.— 
I  had  caught  a  gross  of  fish,  whose  average  weight 
was  four  pounds.  I  took  them  to  the  smokehouse 
and  received  eighteen  shillings  for  them,  at  which  I 
was  mightily  pleased. 

Altogether  that  week  my  fishing  brought  me  in 
four  pounds,  and  I  felt  as  if  I  were  on  the  high  road 
to  tortune,  when  the  Cod,  who  had  only,  I  suppose, 
been  on  a  visit,  departed  again,  and  my  occupation 
was  gone,  for  within  the  bay,  where  alone  my  boat 
was  of  service,  I  could  not  find  a  single  Cod.  On  the 
last  day  I  caught  but  a  single  fish,  and  that  was  a 
huge  lean  Ling. 

This  curious  relative  of  the  Cod  seems  to  be  a  com- 
promise between  a  Cod  ard  a  conger  eel,  and  there  are 
not  wanting  those  fishermen  who  believe  that  it  really 
is  a  hybrid.  Its  head  and  shoulders  are  exactly  like 
a  Cod,  colour,  barbels  on  the  lower  lip  (a  kind  of  feelers) 
and  all.  But  the  body  tapers  away  just  like  an  eel's 
with  a  dorsal  fin  that  runs  almost  round  where  the  tail 
fin  should  be,  and  continues  along  the  belly  as  long 
ventral.  The  one  I  caught  was  nearly  six  feet  in 
length,  but  so  attenuated  that  he  did  not  weigh  more 
than  twenty  pounds.  I  found  on  this  occasion,  that 
the  habits  of  the  southern  Cod  were  far  less  regular 
than  those  of  the  Cod  of  our  own  seas.  They  appear 
to   have    no   settled    banks,    feeding   grounds   where 


^^^ 

^^<r    ;,*■"' 

1 

p^ 

■    ^■"                                                                                          -4fc                                        ^^     ■      -'i'*-^  -                                                                                                              ..1 

ivT^::;:^;;:::^^ 

vVV.    .  ''^^^^^^'^S 

'(1 

r  >      i  -*  1 

i^ 

^ 

K* 

r^ 

UK  I'Ol.l.OCK   IS  MOUK  KhKC.ANT  1\  SIIAI'K 
(•H1I:F   of    mis    TKIliK, 


'II AX  THK 


Varieties  of  Cod 


289 


one  may  always  find  them  at  stated  seasons,  but  wander 
in  f.iitlv  large  companies  wherever  food  rs  plentiful. 

Before  leaving  this  subject  finally,  I  would  like  to 
siy  that  Rock  Cod  are  not  confined,  as  are  the  grey 
variety,  tc  temperate  and  cold  waters.  I  have  caught 
tlum  in  so  torrid  a  climate  as  that  of  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico  ■♦■  a  depth  of  seventy  fathoms.  But  I  suppose 
that  the  rule  of  low  temperature  at  certain  depths, 
making  fish  who  affect  those  depths  almost  world-wide 
in  tlieir  habitat,  will  apply  to  Cod,  even  though  he 
is  not,  I  should  say,  ever  found  at  a  greater  depth 
tlum  a  hundred  fathoms.  That,  however,  is  quite 
deep  enough  for  the  standard  temperature  (about  31° 
F.)  of  the  deep  sea. 

A  very  interesting  little  member  of  the  Cod  family, 
Will-known  to  all  of  us,  is  the  Whiting.  It  is  caught 
in  great  quantities  round  our  coasts  and  off  the  shores 
of  Holland.  It  is  essentially  a  fish  to  be  eaten  fresh, 
the  delicacy  and  whiteness  of  its  flesh  being  entirely 
spiiiled  by  any  attempts  to  cure  it.  More  than  that, 
much  as  it  is  prized  on  account  of  its  delicacy  of  flavour 
and  appearance,  it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  no 
une  who  has  not  tasted  it  v/ithin  three  hours  of  its 
capture  can  have  any  idea  how  delicious  it  really  is. 
The  same  thing,  of  course,  applies  practically  to  all 
1i>h,  no  animal  food  growing  flavourless  and  stale  so 
ciuickly,  but  the  probability  is  that  of  all  the  fish  we 
eat  there  are  none  which  it  is  so  imperatively  necessary 
ti)  eat  fresh  if  we  would  really  have  them  in  perfection 
as  the  Whiting.  It  is  a  small  fish,  being  rarely  caught 
above  three  pounds  weight  and  averaging  about  a 
pound. 

The  Pollock  is  another  member  of  the  Cod  family 
of  rather  better  flavour  than  the  chief  of  his  tribe, 
as  well  as  more  elegant  in  shape  and  not  so  slimy. 

10 


2go 


Cod 


But  he  is  much  scarcer  and  more  select,  always  boiiir; 
regarded  by  fishemien  as  a  far  superior  lish  to  the  Cod. 
He  is  found  of  a  goodly  weight.  I  have  myself  caught 
Pollock  in  the  Bay  of  Fundy  weighing  from  seven  to 
ten  pounds.  They  arc  highly  esteemed  in  Nova  Scotia 
and  New  Brunswick,  whfre  I  have  seen  them  exposed 
for  sale  after  being  smoked,  haddock  fashion,  and  very 
delicious  eating  they  were. 

But  none  of  the  allied  members  of  the  Cod  attain  to 
any  comparison  with  his  great  size,  which  sometimes 
runs  up  to  close  upon  eighty  pounds,  except  the  Burbot, 
a  true  Cod,  almost  indistinguishable  from  his  celebrated 
congener,  but  an  inhabitant  of  fresh  water,  and,  as 
far  as  is  known,  never  going  near  the  sea.  In  the  rivers 
of  this  country,  such  as  the  Trent  and  the  Cam,  where 
he  is  to  be  found,  his  average  weight  is  only  two  pounds, 
but  in  the  great  streams  of  Europe  and  America  he 
attains  a  weight  sometimes  of  over  twenty.  There 
is  another  species  of  Cod  found  on  our  coast  known 
as  the  Coal-fish,  but  it  does  not  call  for  any  special 
remark  here. 


CHAPTER   XXI 
THE    HERRING 


STRICTLY  ppeakint^,  the  subject  of  the   present 
chapter   should    not    be    allowed    to   enter   this 
honourable  company  at  all,   since  it    is  to  com- 
prise   only   deep-sea   people,    to    which    so   great    an 
authority    as    Dr.    Giinther    emphatically   says   that 
the  Herring  docs  not  belong.     It  has  long  been  ima- 
1,'incd  tiiat  the  Herring,  our  common  Herring  that  is, 
from    whom    over   fifty  different  species  derive  their 
title,    spawns    in   the    Arctic    regions,   and  at  stated 
periods    pursues    its   w.y   in    unimaginable   numbers 
through  the  deep  sea  until  it  strikes  our  coasts,  when 
it  rises  to  the  surface  and  is  thus  brought  within  reach 
i)f  the  fisherman.     But  this  idea  is  now  scouted  by 
irlithyologists.     They  tell  us  that  the  Herring  never 
goes  far  from  its  spawning  grounds,  which  are  in  shallow 
waters.     That   the   immense   shoals  of   Herring   from 
which   our   fishermen   take   their   toll  have  come   up 
from  deeper  water  a  little  farther  off  shore  where  they 
liave  been  feeding  and  getting  plump  in  order  to  spawn. 
which  accounts  for  the  frxt  that  the  Herring  in  full 
season  is  always  full  of  roe  or  milt,  and  when  they  have 
spawned  they  are  no  longer  fit  to  be  eaten.     Any  one 
who  has  ever  tasted  a  Herring  in  the  latter  condition 
will  cordially  endorse  that  statement  as  an  indubit- 
able fact. 

The  romance  of  the  Herring  is  a  most  fascinating 


292 


The  Herring 


one.  Although  there  may  be  some  doubt  as  to  which 
is  the  most  valuable  from  a  statistical  and  financial 
point  of  view,  the  cod  (ir  the  Herring  fishery,  there 
can  be  no  doubt  at  all  as  to  which  is  the  most  ancient 
and,  as  far  as  Europe  is  concerned,  most  popular. 
The  Herring  has  often  been  proudly  dubbed  the  king 
of  fish,  but  the  name  is  inappropriate.  The  Herring 
is  a  vulgar  fish,  beloved  by  the  people,  who  sniff  its 
fragrant  aroma,  as,  in  the  guise  of  the  bloater  or  kipper, 
it  splutters  on  the  gridiron,  with  lively  anticipations 
of  a  savoury  meal.  A  fashionable  fish  it  cannot  be, 
beca.,.se  of  its  cheapness  and  because  of  the  aroma 
aforesaid,  which,  in  the  eyes  or  rather  the  nostrils 
of  poor  folk,  is  one  of  its  chief  recommendations. 

The  Herring  is  almost  the  only  fish  which  the 
selfish  autocrats  of  our  great  fish  markets  allow  to 
be  retailed  cheaply,  and  it  is  no  uncom...on  thing  to 
see  fresh  Herrings  not  twenty-four  hours  from  the 
sea  being  iold  in  London  streets  by  the  poor  man's 
purveyor,  the  costermonger,  at  four  and  even  six  a 
penny,  or  at  less  than  a  penny  a  pound.  And  even 
at  that  rate  there  is  considerable  room  for  profit 
between  the  catcher  and  the  eater.  When  one  boat 
in  a  night  sometimes  draws  from  the  sea  over  a  quarter 
of  a  million  fish,  and  could,  but  for  her  limited  capacity 
and  the  fear  of  breaking  the  nets,  take  more  than 
double  the  quantity,  it  is  easily  seen  how  cheap 
the  fish  may  be,  especially  when  it  is  invariably  taken 
near  shore.  Another  thing,  although  the  Herring  dies 
almost  instantaneously  upon  leaving  the  water,  it 
does  not  become  stale  very  quickly— that  is,  there  is 
less  difference  between  Herring  just  out  of  the  water 
and  those  twenty-four  hours  landed  than  there  is 
noticeable  in  almost  any  other  fish  under  the  same 
conditions. 


Good  in  Every  Way  293 

Moreover  there  is  no  fish  which  lends  itself  so  easily 
to  cheap  curing,  or  which  when  cured  has  a  flavour 
nrcatly  superior  to  that  of  the  fresh  fish.  Salted 
cod  is  good  fish  no  doubt  and  has  great  value,  but 
compared  with  the  fresh  fish  it  is  vastly  inferior  in 
point  of  flavour.  But  delicious  as  is  a  fresh  Herring 
fried  or  grilled,  a  bloater  or  a  kipper  is  certainly  far 
more  savoury,  although  perhaps  a  trifle  too  rich  for 
delicate  stomachs.  And  they  have  the  advantage 
of  keeping  for  a  long  time  if  not  allowed  to  dry.  The 
high  dried  Herring, '  ham-cured  '  Herring,  or  '  Glasgow 
Magistrate,'  as  irreverent  people  call  it,  is  a  great 
favourite  with  the  poor,  but  H  is  intensely  salt,  and 
certainly  has  its  demerits  as  a  thirst  provoker,  leading 
to  an  increased  consumption  of  beer,  which  among  the 
class  with  whom  it  is  a  favourite  is  quite  superfluous. 

The  salt  or  pickled  Herring  is  not  at  all  in  favour 
in  this  country,  but  in  America  and  on  the  continent 
of  Europe  is  greatly  liked,  especially  in  Holland  and 
Germany,  where  it  is  eaten  raw.     I  well  remember  my 
disgust  when,  while  discharging  a  cargo  of  muhogany 
in  Rotterdam,  the  foreman  of  the  stevedores  stopped 
a  Herring   vendor  and   purchasing  half-a-dozen  fish 
from  him,  tendered  one  to  me.     I  smiled  and  said 
I  had  eaten  my  breakfast,  and  anyhow  there  was  no 
means   of    cooking    the    fish.     'Oh.'    said    Hendryk, 
'  cooking  would  spoil  them  ;    we  eat  them  like  this.' 
And  taking  one  by  each  lobe  of  its  tail,  he  ripped  it 
asunder   lengthways,   skilfully  ejected  the  backbone, 
and   devoured  the   fish   with  great  gusto.     Prior  to 
that  the  only  people  1  had  ever  seen  eat  raw  fish  were 
the  South  Sea  Islanders,  and  I  had  fancied  it  a  savage 
accomplishment. 

But  whether  salted,  smoke-dried,  or  eaten  fresh,  the 
Herring  as  an  article  of  food  fills  a  position  quite  out 


294 


The  Herring 


of  all  proportion  to  its  size,  but  c  ntirely  commensurate 
with  its  incalculable  multitudes.  The  Herring  fishery 
has  the  exceeding  merit  of  antiquity,  and  the  distinction 
that,  as  the  centuries  have  rolled  by,  it  has  grown  in 
popular  favour  instea-^  of  waning,  although  it  has  lost 
its  place  at  the  tables  of  the  wealthy,  where  '  bacon'd ' 
Herring  used  to  be  accounted  a  great  dainty.  The 
chronicles  of  Evesham  Abbey  of  the  year  709  made 
mention  of  the  Herring  fishery  as  being  even  then 
established,  the  Herrings,  I  suppose,  being  brought 
from  the  Bristol  Channel  by  way  of  the  Severn  and 
Avon  into  the  heart  of  Worcestershire. 

Yarmouth,  the  Herring  metropolis,  has  been 
famous  for  its  fishery  since  the  days  of  Norman  William, 
the  shallow  sandbanks  lining  the  coasts  of  Suffolk 
and  Norfolk  having  ever  been  a  favourite  resort  of 
the  valuable  little  fish,  and  one  that,  capricious  as  they 
often  are  in  their  movements,  they  seldom  fail  to 
visit  in  vast  numbers.  To-day,  although  Yarmouth 
has  gradually  changed  from  being  one  of  our  principal 
fishing-ports  to  the  less  romantic  but  far  more  pro- 
fitable position  of  a  great  favourite  seaside  resort, 
during  the  Herring  season  it  is  a  scene  of  the  greatest 
activity,  quite  an  immigration  of  Scotch  lasses, 
expert  at  dealing  with  the  Herring  in  the  way  of 
preparing  them  for  curing,  taking  place. 

Yarmouth,  however,  can  in  nowise  claim  a  mo- 
nopoly of  the  Herring  fishery,  for  all  round  our  coasts, 
except  Comvvall  and  Devon,  the  pleasant  fish  is  found 
in  var)apg  numbers  according  as  they  feel  inclined 
to  visit  this,  that,  or  the  other  place.  The  re  sons 
for  this  capriciousness  are  not  at  all  understood, 
whether  it  is  a  question  of  food,  or  gales,  or  temperature. 
But  the  telegraph  keeps  the  smacksmen  advised  as  to 
the  movements  of  the  fish,  and  no  place  can  be  visited 


Dutchmen  and  Herrings      295 

by  them  without  the  prompt  arrival  of  the  fishermen 

in  pursuit. 

All  round  the  sea  coasts  of  Northern  Europe  the 
Herring  is  to  be  found  in  its  season,  from  the  North 
Cape  to  Ushant,  but  of  all  these  countries  where  the 
Herring  is  known  and  loved  and  caught,   Holland 
may  probably  claim  the  pre-eminence  in  antiquity 
and  importance.    There  was  a  time  when  the  fisher- 
men   of    the    Netheriands    supplied    the    whole    of 
Europe  with  Herrings  from  their  sandbanks,  which 
are  a  characteristic  feature  of  the  Dutch  coasts.    Nay, 
Holland  itself  is  just  a  series  of  sandbanks  wrested 
from  the  sea,  which  is  only  kept  from  resuming  its 
ancient  sway  over  the  country  by  unceasing  care, 
and  watchfulness  over  the  dykes.    Thus  the  Herrings 
were,  so  to  speak,  at  the  Dutchmen's  back  doors, 
and  right  profitable  advantage  did  the  sturdy  Nether- 
landers  take  of  the  fact. 

In  the  early  days  their  method  of  curing  for 
export  was  rough  and  rude  in  the  extreme.  They  just 
piled  the  fish  in  heaps  and  sprinkled  salt  upon  them. 
And  the  condition  of  those  fish  in  a  week  or  so  must 
have  been  horrible.  But  people  were  not  fastidious 
then,  and  disregarded  the  laws  of  health  pretty  much 
as  they  listed,  being  ahnost  entirely  ignorant  of 
them,  though  it  must  be  admitted  that  the  Dutch 
were    far  in  advance  of  any  other  nation  in  that 

respect. 

But  in  process  of  time  a  great  genius  arose,  William 
Beukelaer,  of  a  village  near  Sluys,  who  discovered 
that  by  pickling  Herrings  in  barrels  they  might  be 
really  preserved  from  decay,  be  more  portable,  and 
incomparably  cleaner  and  more  wholesome.  It  seems 
to  us  now  but  a  trifling  and  very  obvious  improvement 
upon  the  old  method,  but  such  as  it  was  it  had  a  most 


2g6 


The  Herring 


mighty  influence  in  the  moulding  of  Europe.  For 
upon  that  apparently  insignificant  basis  arose  the 
Dutch  Republic,  which  successfully  resisted  the 
infernal  domination  of  Spain,  and  dealt  one  of  the 
deadliest  blows  at  the  truly  Satanic  Inquisition  that  it 
ever  received,  making  it,  in  fact,  possible  for  Britain 
to  finish  the  good  work  so  well  begun.  Alas  !  that 
before  doing  so  we  should  have  been  compelled  to 
destroy  the  splendid  fisheries  and  oversea  trade  built 
up  by  the  strenuous  Dutchmen. 

First  the  Herring,  then  the  whale.  These  two 
sea-folk  brought  great  prosperity  to  Holland,  but 
note  well,  not  a  prosperity  based  upon  luck,  or  accident, 
or  coincidence,  but  sheer  hard  work,  dogged  perse- 
verance, and  undaunted  courage.  Faithful  to  their 
first  great  success,  the  Dutchmen  alw.  ,  s  spoke  of  the 
Herring  as  the  '  great  fishery,'  of  the  whale  as  the 
'  small,'  having  reference,  of  course,  to  the  relative 
importance  of  the  two  industries  and  not  at  all  to  the 
size  of  the  creatures  taken. 

Truly  the  Herring  fish.^ry  was  a  great  undertaking 
— in  1606,  when  it  was  at  the  height  of  its  prosperity, 
it  gave  employment  to  two  hundred  thousand  men. 
Three  thousand  smacks  were  employed  and  treble 
that  number  of  schuyts  and  galliots  were  engaged 
in  the  transportation  of  the  spoil  of  the  sea.  Then 
came  the  unhappy  quarrel  with  England  arising  out  of 
the  partisanship  of  the  States  General  for  the  Royalist 
party.  Cromwell  and  his  great  admiral,  Blake,  dealt 
such  disastrous  blows  at  the  sea  business  of  the  Nether- 
lands as  practically  crippled  them.  Then,  when 
they  were  struggling  doughtily  to  recover  from  their 
great  misfortunes,  they  found  the  hardy  Northmen 
already  in  possession  of  the  bulk  of  the  trade,  and  to 
crown  all  their  misfortunes,  they  fell  at  last  between 


An  Immense  Industry        297 

the  ui^pcr  millstone  of  Napoleon  and  the  nether  mill- 
stone of  England,  which  completed  their  ruin.  But 
such  a  people  could  not  long  be  kept  down,  and  ac- 
cordingly towards  the  end  of  the  first  half  of  the 
nineteenth  century  they  began  to  recover  again,  and 
have  now  built  up  a  fme  trade  once  more. 

All  this  time  we  were  too  busy  fighting  and  de- 
veloping in  other  directions  to  pay  much  heed  to  the 
Herring  fishery,  but  at  last,  having  destroyed  the 
Dutch  fishing  fleet,  we  began  to  feel  the  need  of  estab- 
hshing  a  much  larger  fishery  for  the  supply  of  our 
own  increasing  wants.  And  this  impetus  given  to 
the  business  has  lasted  until  now,  the  greatest  develop- 
ment, however,  having  shown  itself  among  the  Scotch, 
who  boast  that  their  Loch  Fyne  Herring  are  the  finest 
in  the  world. 

On  the  coast  of  Newfoundland  and  as  far  North 
as  Labrador,  there  is  a  considerable  amount  of  Herring 
fishing  carried  on,  the  fish  being  of  a  larger  and  fatter 
kind  than  are  found  over  here.  But  the  business  is 
so  dwarfed  by  the  great  cod  fishery  that  we  hear  very 
little  of  it.  There  is,  however,  a  rather  important 
fisliery  carried  on  farther  south,  off  the  New  England 
coast,  that  of  the  '  Menhaden.'  a  species  of  Herring 
which  is  so  rich  in  oil  as  to  be  hardly  eatable,  it  is 
caught  in  immense  quantities  for  the  purpose  of  ex- 
tracting the  oil,  which  fetches  a  good  price,  and  the 
dried  fish  remaining  is  used  for  manure. 

But  one  of  the  most  peculiar  facts  in  connection 
with  the  Herring  is  the  persistent  way  in  which  one 
branch  of  the  family,  the  Pilchard  {Cltipea  pilchardus), 
remains  faithful  to  the  south-western  corner  of  England, 
the  counties  of  Devon  and  Cornwall  being  thus  favoured 
to  the  almost  total  exclusion  of  any  other  part  of  the 
country.    In  this  they  differ  greatly  from  the  Herring 


2g8 


The  Herring 


^m. 


proper,  which  is  notable  for  its  fickleness  in  visiting 
various  places  around  tlie  coast.  Fortunately  I  have 
avoided  making  mention  of  the  unaccountable  numbers 
of  tlie  Herring,  for  great  as  they  are,  one  must  reserve 
all  the  supcrhitives  at  command  for  the  Pilchard. 

I  remember  hearing  fromsome  St.  Ives  fishermen  how 
one  season,  when  the  fi^h  were  even  more  numerousthan 
usual,  how  it  occurred  to  some  enterprising  net  owners 
that  it  would  be  a  good  thing  to  stretch  a  strong  fleet 
of  nets  across  the  narrow  entrance  to  a  tiny  bay,  a 
mere  pond  of  less  than  an  acre  in  extent,  at  high  water 
when  it  was  practically  alive  with  Pilchards.  Tliey 
did  so,  and  when  the  tide  ebbed  they  were  appalled 
at  the  magnitude  of  their  haul.  They  sent  word 
hastily  to  all  the  population  round  about  to  come 
and  take  their  fill  of  the  spoil,  to  farmers  that  they 
might  bring  their  waggons  and  cart  off  the  fish  for 
manure,  to  everybody,  in  fact,  who  could  in  any  way 
lessen  the  heap  of  fish.  But  in  vain.  Nothing  seemed 
to  make  any  impression  upon  it,  for  there  were  thou- 
sands of  tons.  And  the  foolish  greed  of  the  originators 
of  this  wholesale  plan  of  capture  was  punished  by  an 
epidemic  which,  begun  in  that  mountain  of  putrefying 
fish,  devastated   the  neighbourhood. 

Only  by  remembering  that  in  the  ordinary  course  of 
the  fishery  ten  thousand  hogsheads  have  been  landed 
in  one  port  in  a  single  day,  roughly  twenty-five  millions 
of  fish,  can  we  imagine  what  that  gigantic  haul  shut 
in  the  little  bay  must  have  been.  The  fish  run  so 
thick  in  the  schools  that  a  pitchfork  will  stand  upright 
in  them,  as  if  stuck  into  a  hogshead  full.  And  it  is 
usual  when  a  shoot  of  nets  has  been  laid  round  a  portion 
of  a  school  like  that  for  boats  to  be  loaded  from  the 
inside  of  tlic  circle  as  from  a  tank,  and  only  take 
ashore  as  much  at   a   time   as  can   conveniently  be 


The  Savoury  Pilchard        2gg 

dealt  with.  By  this  means  the  fish  are  kept  from 
spoiling. 

Apart  from  those  that  are  consumed  locally,  there 
is  not  much  British  trade  in  the  Pilchard.  It  is  too 
rich  for  most  tastes.  So  it  is  salted  and  packed  in 
hogsheads  for  the  Continental  market,  whither  it  is 
sent  after  a  period  of  pressure  upon  the  fish  in  the  big 
casks  for  the  purpose  of  expressing  as  much  of  the 
oil  as  possible. 

But  for  some  obscure  reason,  of  which  I  know 
nothing,  it  seems  impossible  to  spread  the  sale  of 
this  rich  and  tasteful  little  fish  farther  than  its  present 
somewhat  restricted  distribution.  Many  attempts 
have  been  made  to  do  so,  serious  and  well-managed 
efforts  which  deserved  success  at  any  rate.  Lightly 
cured  and  of  a  bright  golden  colour,  Pilchards  in  bundles 
were  for  some  time  to  be  seen  on  almost  every  fish- 
monger's show-boards  in  poor  neighbourhoods.  They 
were  not  only  appetising  in  appearance,  but  of  really 
delicious  flavour,  besides  being  as  cheap  as  the  London 
workman  insists  upon  having  his  food,  that  is  to  say, 
cheaper  than  food  can  be  bought  of  the  same  kind  and 
quality  in  any  other  city  in  the  world. 

But  I  am  afraid  that  they  came  into  competition 
with  the  herring  too  severely,  and  so  brought  down 
upon  themselves,  or  rather  their  owners,  the  enmity 
of  the  great  herring  factors,  for  I  have  noticed  that 
for  some  time  past  they  have  hardly  been  procurable. 
Or  perhaps  the  people  for  whose  benefit  they  were 
intended  would  not  encourage  their  sale.  The  poorest 
classes,  of  London  especially,  those  that  is  who  work 
and  support  themselves,  are  tremendously  jnservative, 
clinging  tenaciously  to  old  ways,  old  styles  of  food,  in 
a  wonderful  manner.  But  if  by  perseverance  some 
new  food  is  at  last  brought  into  their  favour  its  success 


300 


The  Herring 


is  assured,  they  will  rush  for  it  in  hundreds  of  thousands, 
while  at  the  same  time  remaining  loyal  to  their  old 
loves.  And  perhaps  some  day  they  vill  appreciate 
fresh  Pilchards  as  much  as  they  now  do  fresh  herrings, 
and  bloatercd  Pilchards  also, 

A  great  deal  of  capital  and  energy  has  also  been 
expended  in  the  attempt  to  utilise  the  Pilchard  as 
a  '  Cornish  sardine,'  which  is  retailed  at  a  very  modest 
rate,  but  has  certainly  not  been  able  to  do  any  harm 
by  its  competition  to  the  sale  of  sardines  at  nearly 
double  the  price.  They  are  good  and  very  whole- 
some, the  utmost  care  is  taken  in  their  preparation 
— but  even  the  most  careless  person  would  neve/ 
take  them  for  sardines,  the  delicacy  of  flavour,  scarcity 
of  bones  and  succulence  of  flesh  being  altogether 
in  favour  of  the  sardine.  A  much  better  idea  has 
been  that  of  preparing  Pilchards  in  oil  as  Pilchards, 
putting  them  on  the  market  under  their  own  name 
and  trusting  to  their  own  good  qualities  to  make  a 
lucrative  sale  for  them.  They  can  be  obtained  at 
nearly  all  respectable  grocers,  and  I  am  sure  only 
need  a  trial  to  become  favourably  known. 

Whether  a  largely  increased  sale  for  them  or  for 
any  other  fish  that  can  be  sold  very  fresh  is  likely 
under  the  present  market  conditions  of  England 
generally  I  do  not  know.  But  I  fear  not.  It  is  a 
thing  to  be  remembered  in  this  free  trade  country, 
how  coolly,  how  frequently,  the  price  of  necessaries  of 
life  is  raised,  how  persistently  the  cheapening  of  food 
is  opposed  by  the  dealers  in  these  commodities,  and 
how  utterly  helpless  the  consumer  is  to  alter  this 
tyrannical  state  of  affairs.  Nowhere  is  this  more 
marked  than  in  the  distribution  of  fish.  But  for  the 
costermongers  and  their  energy  in  clearing  away  a 
*  glut '  of  fish  from  the  market,  when  by  some  un- 


The  Vulgar  Sprat 


301 


foreseen  hitch  in  the  middle-men's  plans  such  a  thing 
hippens,  it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  most  of  the 
vdV  poor  would  never  know  the  taste  of  fresh  fish 
at  all.  But  perhaps  this  is  more  than  enough  of  the 
itoaomic  side  of  the  Pilchard,  which,  at  any  rate, 
is  much  beloved  in  what  may  be  called  his  native 
county  of  Cornwall,  however  difficult  it  may  be  for 
him  to  get  just  appreciation  in  the  rest  of  England. 

Following  on  after  the  pilchard  in  point  of  size, 
but  almost  as  universal  in  their  British  habitat  as 
the  herring,  comes  the  Sprat,  dear  to  Londoners. 
Indeed,  they  are  the  whitebait  of  the  poor,  and  so 
well-flavoured  that  it  can  scarcely  be  doubted  that 
but  for  their  amazing  numbers  and  consequent  cheap- 
ness they  would  be  quite  as  much  in  favour  with  the 
wealthy  as  the  delicate  little  fish  which  used  to  be 
sacred  to  the  ministerial  end-of-the-session  dinners 
at  Greenwich.  Very  graciously  this  little  herring 
comes  upon  the  scene  immediately  after  the  herring 
season  is  over,  and  in  immense  numbers. 

But  it  is  much  to  be  feared  that  the  catching  of 
them  does  not  afford  anything  like  adequate  remunera- 
tion to  the  fishermen.  And  the  demand,  though 
undoubtedly  large,  is  strictly  limited.  If  the  quantity 
brought  ashore  at  all  oversteps  that  limit,  this  beautiful 
little  fish  goes  off  in  its  myriads  for  manure.  And  I 
have  often  seen  Sprats  being  sold  in  London  at  one 
penny  for  two  pounds.  Here,  at  any  rate,  the  com- 
plaint against  the  middle-man  keeping  the  price  up 
can  hardly  be  maintained.  But  as  far  as  I  know  it 
is  almost  the  only  fish  of  which  the  same  thing  can 
be  said. 

Also  the  Sprat  lends  itself  most  amicably  to  curing, 
somewhat  after  the  style  of  the  kippered  herring, 
except  that  it  is  not,  of  course,  split  open.    It  is  cured 


302 


The   Herring 


by  smoking,  having  very  little  si't  added,  and  is  then 
tied  up  in  little  bundles  of  V::-,  which  are  usuall- 
sold  three  for  twopence  or  one  halfpennv  each.  Most 
delicious  and  delicate  they  are  in  fla\our,  too,  only 
that  they  have  the  fatal  pleb;  ian  stamp  of  plenty  and 
cheapness.  But  even  the  poor  do  not,  I  think,  apj:  u- 
ciate  them  as  they  should.  Not  nearly  cis  much,  for 
instance,  as  they  do  such  shcll-fish  as  the  periwinkle 
and  the  appalling  whelk,  which  is  a  miracle  of  toughness 
and  indigestibility. 

Following  up  a  theory  very  largely  held  that  the 
herring,  the  Sprat,  and  the  sardine,  are  one  and  the 
same  fish,  serious  attempts  have  been  made  to  serve 
Sprats  in  tins  a  la  sardine.     But  no  one  of  the  slightest 
discrimination  can  fail  to  detect  the  difference  at  once. 
There  is  no  doubt  that  an  enormous  number  of  Sprats 
are  preserved  in  inferior  oil  such  as  cotton-seed  oil, 
and  sold  as  sardines  at  fourpence  to  sixpence  a  tin,' 
sardines    of   undoubted   genuineness    costing   at   the 
same  time  one  shilling  and  twopence  per  tin  of  the 
same  size,  and  there  is  equal  certainty  that  people 
who  have  grown  fond  of  fish  preserved  in  oil  do  eat 
and  enjoy  these  tinned  Sprats  in  the  belief  that  they 
are  sardines,  utterly  oblivious  of  the  fact  that  they 
are  paying  from  eight  to  ten  times  more  than  they 
need  for  the  dainty  little  fish,  which  when  smoked, 
may  safely  challenge  the  whole  fish  world  in  point 
of  flavour,  but  does  not  take  kindly  to  preservation 
in  oil,  as  do  the  sardine  and  anchovy.     But,  except 
for  the  fact  that  these  Sprats  are  sold  as  sardines 
when  they  are  not,  this  is  nobody's  business  but  the 
sellers'  and  the  buyers' ;  I  mean,  that  no  one  is  done 
any  great  harm  to,  and  so  it  is  not  necessary  to  interfere. 
It  is  perfectly  certain,  however,  that  the  name  '  Sprat ' 
has  so  low  and  vulgar  a  sound  that,  if  these  tinned 


Providential  Habits 


303 


sprats  were  offered  for  sale  as  such,  no  one  would  be 
fouiid  to  purchase  them  at  all. 

The  liabits  of  the  Sprat  as  far  as  they  can  be  known 
are  identical  with   those  of  the  herring.     Both   feed 

their  incalculable  hosts  in  the  deep  water  off  our 


m 


coasts,  affording  in  their  turn  food  to  a  mighty  army 
of  larger  fish  of  many  species.  Then  when  the  time 
draws  near  for  them  to  ^pawn  they  come  shorewards, 
drawing  closer  together  until  they  appear  like  a  solid 
wall  of  fish  many  yards  thick  and  hundreds  of  yards 
long,  all  moving  by  one  common  impulse  towards 
whatever  spawning  ground  they  may  happen  to  be 
seeking.  They  have  no  leaders,  and  it  passes  the  wit 
of  man  to  understand  why  they  vary  their  spawning 
places  :  whether  it  is  the  weather,  the  temperature 
of  the  sea,  or  the  quantity  of  food  to  be  found  which 
actuates  them.  The  amazing  thing  is  that  every 
individual  of  the  countless  millions  feels  the  same 
impulse,  obeys  it  at  the  same  moment,  and  needs  no 
other  guide. 

For  the  sake  of  the  humans  who  depend  upon  them, 
it  is  a  wonderfully  valuable  dispensation  of  Providence 
which  compels  them  to  seek  the  surface  and  the  com- 
paratively shallow  waters  near  the  shore  to  spawn, 
since  otherwise  it  would  be  perfectly  impossible  to 
catch  them.  No  other  means  could  be  devised  which 
would  be  so  effectual  in  garnering  this  rich  harvest 
of  the  sea  as  that  universally  employed  and  invented 
in  who  knows  what  dim,  far-off  age  of  the  world's 
history. 

And  yet  the  method  is  not,  as  might  be  supposed, 
universally  understood.  Very  briefly  it  is  this  :  of 
stout  well-tarred  twine  a  net  is  constructed  about 
twenty  feet  wide  and  in  one  hundred  and  twenty  feet 
lengths,  making  up  for  one  boat  about  two  hundred 


3^4 


The   Herring 


fathoms.  At  the  top  and  bottom  are  stout  ropes 
the  lower  rope  being  sh-Iitly  vveiylited  with  sheet 
lead  lapped  round  it  in  places  and  the  upper  buoyed 
with  pieces  of  cork.  The  meshes  are  made  just  large 
enough  for  the  herring  or  Sprat,  as  the  case  may  be, 
to  get  its  head  through.  Then  it  is  caught,  for  the 
pectoral  fins  and  swell  of  the  body  will  not  allow  it 
to  go  any  farther,  while  the  opening  of  the  gills  prevent 
it  from  moving  b.ickwards.  When  the  nets  are  shot, 
as  it  is  termed,  they  oppose  to  the  passage  of  the 
army  of  herrings  an  invisible  fence  through  wliich 
it  is  impossible  to  pass,  but  which  is,  of  course,  at- 
tempted. Presently  an  enormous  number  of  fish 
are  entrapped  by  the  neck,  but  so  lightly  are  they 
held  that  when  the  net  is  hauled  into  the  boat  a  gentle 
shake  is  quite  sufficient  to  dislodge  them,  and  they 
fa)!  into  the  boat  dead,  for  the  herring  dies  almost 
at  once  upon  leaving   its  native  clement. 

Meeting  this  invisible  barrier  throws  the  school 
iulo  terr.bie  confusion,  and  it  breaks  up,  its  units, 
no  longer  homogeneous  in  mass,  rushing  aimlessly 
hither  and  thither.  A  catastrophe  has  taken  place  in 
tlieir  world  far  greater  than  the  swift  passage  through 
their  mass  of  a  whale  with  vast  jaws  wideipread 
swallowing  many  thousands  of  them  at  a  gulp,  or 
tlie  incessant  incursions  of  the  porpoises  and  sharks. 
But  the  barrier  once  removed  and  its  goodly  load  of 
victims  transferred  to  the  boat,  they  soon  re-form 
again  and,  obedient  to  that  compelling  impulse, 
resume  their  steady  march  towards  their  objective. 

Much  to  the  discomfiture  and  loss  of  the  lishermen, 
it  does  occasionally  happen  that  a  whale  in  pursuit 
of  his  prey  comes  gliding  on  to  whore  the  nets  stretch 
right  across  his  path.  As  the  fishermen  can  easily 
see  his  api)roach,  even  on  the  darkest  night,  it  is  an 


Trials  of  Herring  Fishers     305 

anxious  time  for  them,  and  all  manner  of  strange 
devices  are  resorted  to  for  the  purpose  of  turning 
hiin  from  his  course.  For  should  he  pass  through 
the  nets,  wliile  he  would  hardly  feel  them,  it  would 
be  110  .ing  short  of  a  disaster  for  the  poor  men  earning 
tlieir  hard  and  precarious  livelihoo  1.  It  might  con- 
vert a  fairly  prosperous  season  into  one  in  which  a 
(JcmJ  loss  was  made,  for  those  nets  are  costly,  and 
a  whale  can  easily  carry  away  a  whole  flight. 

Scarcely  less  destructive  are  the  sharks  and  dog- 
fish and  porpoises,  all  of  which  are  far  too  strong, 
iivenous,  and  reckless,  to  be  safely  hindered  by  the 
envelopment  of  herring  nets.  Also  it  is  not  an  un- 
known thing  for  a  ship  to  blunder  thro''  h  the  nets, 
and  cause  much  damage,  so  that,  apart  altogether  from 
the  chances  of  severe  autumnal  weather,  the  herring 
fisherman's  life  is  a  very  anxious  one,  and  he  deserves 
all  the  efforts  that  are  being  made  by  good  people 
ashore  for  the  furtherance  of  his  spiritual  and  material 
welfare.  These  fishermen  are,  taking  them  all  round, 
a  splendid  race  of  men,  and  entirely  worthy  of  our 
deepest  regard. 

The  t>ny  species  of  herring  known  as  Whitebait 
(Clupca  alba)  is  taken  in  small  bag  nets  just  beneath 
the  surface  of  the  water  in  the  estuaries  of  our  rivers, 
principally  in  the  Thames,  in  spite  of  the  pollution 
wliich  has  robbed  the  beautiful  river  of  most  of  its 
fis!i,  even  in  the  high  reaches.  But  the  tiny  wanderers 
only  come  in  with  the  flood-tide,  getting  out  again, 
those  that  are  not  caught,  before  the  poisonous  matter 
brought  down  by  the  ebb  has  had  time  to  overtake 
them.  The  catching  of  them  is  a  very  small  but 
fairly  lucrative  nidustry,  there  being  always  a  brisk 
den  and  for  them  at  high  prices,  since  they  are  what 
may  be  termed  a  fashionable  fish.    Yet,  as  I  have 

20 


3o6 


The  Herring 


'«r-. 


said  before,  there  can  be  scarcely  any  question  but 
that  the  vulgar  Sprat  is  of  much  better  flavour, 
although  it  must  be  admitted  that  the  Sprat  is  a 
trifle  rich  for  delicate  stomachs  to  deal  with.  There 
is  little  doubt  but  ihat  other  young  fry  are  frequently 
brought  to  market  and  sold  as  Whitebait,  or  that 
they  are  just  as  good,  no  one  but  an  expert  ichthyo- 
logist being  able  to  tell  the  difference  between  them 
and  the  Wliitebait.  So  that  the  substitution  may  be 
quite  innocent,  and  in  any  case  does  not  matter. 

The  Sardine,  while  a  veritable  herring,  is  a  very 
well-marked  variety,  having  distinct  qualities  of  its 
own,  and  keeping  rigidly  away  from  the  shores  of 
Britain.  It  is  cauglit  at  various  places  along  the 
coasts  of  France  westward  from  the  bay  in  which 
are  the  Channel  Islands,  but  the  chief  fishing  port 
is  L'Orient  on  the  northern  shore  of  the  Bay  of  Biscay 
in  Brittany. 

But  of  late  the  Sardine  fishery  has  fallen  upt  vil 
days.  The  natural  enemies  of  the  little  fish,  such 
as  whales  and  porpoises,  have  increased  so  greatly 
that  the  shoals  no  longer  come  near  enough  to  shore 
to  be  caught ;  indeed,  there  do  not  seem  to  be  any 
shoals  of  Sardines  at  all,  and  the  poor  Breton  fishermen 
pre  in  such  dire  straits  that  public  help  has  been  asked 
and  obtained  for  them.  And  a  paternal  government 
has,  at  the  requ  -st  of  the  fishermen,  granted  the  use 
of  torpedo  bo:;ts  to  hunt  and  desiroy  the  porpoises, 
in  the  hoj^e  that  thus  will  the  drain  upon  the  supply 
of  Sardines  be  stopped. 

But  it  seems  very  doubtful  indeed  whether  such 
measures  are  of  the  slightest  use.  Except  for  some 
terrible  submarine  calamity,  such  as  a  sudden  lowering 
of  the  sea  temperature,  or  a  volcano  suddenly  becoming 
active,  the  numbers  of  such  a  fish  as  the  Sardine  would 


A  Sardine  Famine 


307 


not  be  affected.  The  n  ral  checks  placed  upon  their 
increase  in  the  sea  by  the  Creator  will  never  do  more 
than  they  should  do,  when  unmolested  by  man.  It 
is  only  when  man  thrusts  his  hands  into  Nature's 
work  that  any  great  unbalancing  of  natural  resources 
tai<es  place.  The  Sardines  have  just  moved  on  a  little, 
that  is  all,  and  will,  I  hope,  be  as  plentiful  as  ever 
round  the  Breton  shores  again  soon. 

The  dainty  little  fish  is  also  found  in  the  Mediterra- 
nean on  the  coast  of  Africa  and  about  the  islands  of 
Corsica  and  Sardinia,  but  in  th-se  localities  is  more 
a  matter  of  local  consumption  than  of  preparation 
for  export.  This  seems  strange  too,  seeing  thai  from 
the  latter  island  it  takes  its  name,  and  its  plenty  there 
is  beyond  question.  But  the  Bretons  have  made  the 
Saidine  fishery  peculiarly  their  own,  and  nothing 
apparently  but  a  continuance  of  the  present  dearth 
--an  take  from  them  •  leir  premier  position  as  the 
world's  purveyors  of  the  finest  brands. 

The  Ancliovy  is  also  a  Mediterranean  fish  of  world- 
wide reputation  as  an  appetiser,  its  piquant  flavour 
and  the  rather  large  quantity  of  salt  considered 
necessary  to  its  preservation  making  it  a  much  desired 
adjunct  to  other  fish  in  the  shape  of  sauce.  Its 
peculiarly  coloured  flesh,  too,  helps  it  for  this  purpose, 
the  dark  red  of  the  Anchovy  contrasting  well  with 
the  white  flesh  of  cod,  turbot,  etc.  In  this  respect 
It  differs  widely  from  all  of  its  congeners,  and  except 
for  the  assurance  of  those  who  have  made  fish  their 
social  study,  I  should  hesitate  to  accept  the  statement 
that  it  belongs  to  the  herring  family  at  all.  In  any 
case  it  is  but  a  distar  relation,  for  the  prefix  Clupea 
IS  dropped,  and  a  t.,ially  dissimilar  one,  Engraulis, 
IS  given.  The  principal  fisheries  are  along  the  Riviera, 
where  the  fish  are  pickled  in  tiny  barrels  and  sent  else- 


3o8 


The  Herring 


where  to  be  made  into  sauce  or  paste,  or  eaten  au  nature! 
as  the  Dutch  eat  the  pickled  Herring.  But  the  fish 
frequents  the  whole  of  the  adjacent  coasts  eastward, 
being  caught  all  down  the  Italian  shore  as  far  as  Sicily 
as  well  as  on  the  African  shore. 

Of  the  Large  Herring  frequenting  the  inclement 
shores  of  Labrador,  alluded  to  in  the  early  part  of  this 
chapter,  there  is  very  little  to  say,  except  that,  hke 
the  Menhaden,  they  are  far  too  full  of  oil  to  be  relished 
by  us,  even  if  it  were  worth  while  tc  send  them  over, 
which  it  emphatically  is  not.  They  are,  however,  in 
great  demand  in  America  in  their  pickled  or  salt 
condition,  and  are  to  be  found  all  over  the  interior 
of  the  United  States  and  Canada.  Scattered  members 
of  the  herring  family  are  found  in  many  parts  of  the 
world,  none  calling  for  comment  but  the  Fresh- 
water Herring  of  some  Australian  rivers.  Many  of 
these  I  have  caught  with  a  hook  and  line  from  the 
wharves  on  the  Clarence  River,  and  do  not  remember 
that  they  presented  any  essential  difference  from  the 
herring  caught  in  the  British  seas.  But  then  I  did 
not  attach  any  importance  to  the  f  ct  that  T  was 
catching  them  in  fresh  water,  a  point  which  should 
have  claimed  my  attention  even  at  that  early  age. 

I  have  left  to  the  last  the  mighty  and  majestic 
Tarpon,  beloved  of  wealthy  anglers  and  frequenting 
the  shores  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  and  adjacent  islands. 
He  is  undoubtedly  a  herring !  But  such  a  herring ! 
Specimens  have  been  caught  weighing  two  hundred 
pounds,  and  the  sport  of  landing  such  a  monster  as 
that  with  an  ordinary  salmon  rod  and  line  calls  for 
the  highest  skill,  strength,  and  patience  on  the  part 
of  the  angler.  It  is  such  a  splendid  game  fish  too, 
leaping  high  into  the  air  like  a  huge  bar  of  silver  when 
hooked,  and  endeavouring  to  shake  the  galling  hook 


The  Majestic  Tarpon        309 

out  of  its  mouth.  In  this  it  very  often  succeeds, 
much  to  the  chagrin  of  the  fisherman,  whose  utmost 
skill  is  powerless  to  prevent  such  an  accident  unless 
by  great  good  fortune  the  hook  should  have  penetrated 
the  only  vulnerable  part  of  the  jaw. 

One  night  in  Barbadoes,  fishing  with  ordinary 
tackle,  I  hooked  Tarpon  over  twenty  times,  and  lost 
them  before  I  had  gathered  in  half  a  dozen  fathoms 
of  the  line.  For  whenever  they  sprang  into  the  air, 
which  they  did  as  soon  as  they  felt  the  hook,  they 
leaped  towards  the  boat  at  the  same  time,  and  my 
hooks  being  of  a  very  inferior  type  and  not  at  all  like 
the  keen  slender  hooks  sold  for  Tarpon-fishing,  they 
would  not  hold,  especially  as  I  could  not  keep  a  strain 
on  the  line.  But  at  last  I  did  succeed  in  cc^tching  one 
(he  fell  off  the  hook  the  moment  he  entered  the  boat), 
and  immediately  examining  his  mouth  I  found  it 
apparently  entirely  devoid  of  any  place  wiiere  a 
hook  could  enter  except  the  edge  of  the  lip.  It 
seemed  to  be  all  solid,  polished  bone.  I  thought 
I  had  never  seen  a  more  beautiful  fisa.  Its  eyes 
were  very  large  and  full,  and  its  scales,  each  cis  big 
as  a  crown  piece,  were  just  like  planished  plates  of 
mother  of  pearl.  Of  the  quality  of  its  flesh  I  can  say 
nothing,  as  I  sold  it,  and  so  did  not  assist  at  the  eating 
of  my  prize. 


■11 


CHAPTER    XXII 


THE    BARRACOUTA 

IN  dealing  with  this  fish,  the  last  upon  my  hst,  I  have 
one  great  advantage :  knowing  him  very  -.veil,  in- 
deed personally,  I  am  not  hampered  with  what  I 
may  call  museum  details.  Strangely  enough,  the  Barra- 
couta,  in  spite  of  the  large  extent  of  his  range,  his  great 
numbers,  usefulness  as  a  food-fish,  and  other  strongly 
marked  qualities,  has  been  much  neglected  bv  ichthyo- 
logists, Messrs.  Goode  and  Bean's  monumental  work, 
for  instance,  having  no  mention  o:  him.  Lydckker 
mentions  the  name,  spelling  it  '  Barracouda,'  as  being 
indifferently  applied  to  the  genera  Thyrsites  and 
Sphyroena.  But  that  does  not  shed  a  dazzling  light 
upon  the  habits  of  a  most  interesting  deep-sea  fish,  and 
one  that  is  found  in  nearly  all  tropical  and  temperate 
waters  around  the  world.  I  should  like  though  to 
say  at  the  outset  that,  in  my  experience,  the  Barra- 
couta  of  the  West  Indies  differs  in  very  important 
respects  from  the  fish  known  by  that  name  around 
the  South  African  coast  and  in  Australasia  ;  yet  the 
habits  and  contour  of  the  two  are  so  exactly  similar 
that  I  am  convinced  they  are  very  closely  related,  and 
the  difference  probably  due  to  climate  and  habitat. 

My  first  acquaintance  with  the  Barracouta  was 
made  in  the  small  reef-protected  harbour  of  Falmouth, 
jamai'^a.  A  native  fisherman  brought  o-ie  on  board 
for  sale,  and  the  steward,  after  some  little  haggling, 

310 


A  Dangerous  Neighbour      311 

boiiglit  it  and  hung  it  up  beneath  the  boat  on  the 
skids.  Being  at  that  time  of  an  age  when  inquisitive- 
ness  is  the  normal  frame  of  mind,  i.e.  about  thirteen, 
I  soon  found  an  opportunity  of  examining  it.  It  was 
about  three  feet  long  with  scarcely  any  bulge  to  its 
body,  which  was  about  eight  inches  wide  and  five 
inches  thick,  tapering  off  very  little  to  the  tail.  Its 
head  was  very  much  like  a  pike's,  with  a  lower  jaw 
considerably  prolonged  beyond  the  upper  one,  an 
enormous  gape  and  cruel-looking  canine  teeth.  Indeed, 
but  that  it  was  more  symmetrical,  it  reminded  me  very 
much  of  the  head  of  a  crocodile.  The  eyes  were  very 
large  and  well  situated  for  seeing  in  every  direction, 
being  set  prominently,  one  on  either  side  of  the  widest 
part  of  the  wedge-shaped  head.  The  fins  were  rather 
small  for  the  size  of  the  fish,  all  except  the  caudal  or 
tail-fin,  which  was  large,  fleshy  and  lightly  forked, 
having  a  very  wide  area  of  propelling  surface.  The 
body  was  covered  with  medium-sized  scales,  which 
were  easily  detached,  showing  in  a  marked  degree 
its  difference  from  the  mackerel  family,  whose  scales 
are  very  few  and  most  firmly  attached  to  their  bodies. 
Its  colours  were  simple,  a  dirty  brownish  black  above 
and  livid  white  below,  the  two  meeting  at  the  lateral 
line.  It  was  long  afterwards  when  I  first  saw  a  hake, 
a  very  common  fish  around  our  south-we->tern  coasts, 
and  I  was  immediately  struck  by  the  great  resemblance 
between  it  and  a  Barracouta — so  great  that  I  feel 
sure  they  must  belong  to  the  same  family,  although 
I  do  not  believe  the  hake  has  anything  like  the  ferocious 
character  of  his  great  southern  congener. 

While  I  stood  studying  the  contour  of  this,  to  me, 
new  and  strange  fish,  the  cook,  an  elderly  negro 
belonging  to  the  island,  sauntered  up,  and  after 
handling  the  fish,  began  in  an  impartial  sort  of  way 


312 


The  Barracouta 


to  tell  me  anecdotes  about  the  Barracouta.  I  regret 
exceedingly  that  I  am  unable  to  reproduce  them  here 
in  detail.  I  can  only  say  that,  if  true,  and  the  narrator 
evidently  believed  them  to  be  so,  they  stamped  the 
Barracouta  with  a  malignancy  of  character  in  its 
relations  to  man  compared  with  which  that  of  the  shark 
is  personified  amiability.  It  must  suffice  to  say  that, 
according  to  cook,  the  vicinity  of  a  Barracouta  to 
a  swimmer  meant  death,  death  by  lingering  torture, 
since  the  terrible  fish  only  took  one  bite,  but  that  a 
diabolically  efficient  one.  No  wonder,  believing  what 
they  did,  that  the  negroes  should  have  called  the 
Barracouta  the  '  devil-fish,'  one  among  the  many 
denizens  of  the  deep  sea  to  which  this  grisly  name 
has  been  given. 

A  few  days  later  I  had  an  opportunity  of  seeing 
how  firm  a  hold  this  belief  had  upon  the  darkies. 
By  accident  a  pair  of  can-hooks  had  been  dropped 
overboard,  and  although  the  water  was  forty  feet 
deep,  such  was  its  transparency  that  they  could  plainly 
be  seen  resting  upon  the  smooth  white  sand.  There 
were  several  sharks  prowling  arour.d  as  usual,  but  the 
offer  of  a  shilling  to  whoever  would  dive  for  those 
can-hooks  was  quite  sufficient  to  bring  forward  in- 
stantly half-a-dozen  eager  candidates,  who  cared 
no  more  for  the  presence  of  a  shark  than  they  did  for  a 
sprat.  One  by  one  they  went  overboard,  making  first 
a  bit  of  a  splashing  to  keep  the  sharks  at  a  respectful 
distance,  and  then  swimming  down  to  the  bottom. 

But  the  can-hooks  proved  too  heavy  to  lift  to  the 
surface,  although  several  divers  tried,  and  at  last  a  man 
was  going  down  with  a  hook  on  the  hand  lead-line  to 
attach  to  the  chain  of  the  can-hooks  when  suddenly  a 
cry  of  '  Couter,'  '  Couter '  was  raised.  There  were  at  the 
time  eight  negroes  in  the  water  gambolling  about  and 


My  First  Barracouta         313 

taking  as  little  heed  of  the  fact  that  there  were  many 
>licirks  in  the  vicinity  as  of  one  another.  But  at  that  cry 
tliere  was  a  frantic  rush  to  get  out  of  the  water.  De- 
mented, they  tore  at  one  another  for  the  possession  of 
ropes  that  were  flung  over,  and  for  a  few  moments  it 
looked  as  if  a  tragedy  were  imminent.  But,  fortunately, 
all  got  safely  on  board,  although  their  denioralised, 
panic-stricken  condition  was  painful  to  witness.  And 
their  discussion  of  the  situation  aftcrwai  s  savoured 
more  of  the  proceedings  of  a  bevy  of  Bedlamites  than 
anything  else. 

The  vessel  was  wrecked  on  leaving  the  port  for 
home,  coming  to  grief  about  two  miles  outside  the 
harbour,  and  consequently  I  had  an  opportunity 
of  studying  shore  life  among  those  cheery  amiable 
darkies.  One  day  four  stalwart  ebon  friends  of  mine 
forgathered  on  the  beach,  and  I,  coming  up  with 
them,  learned  that  they  were  going  Barracouta 
fishing.  I  asked  if  I  might  come  too,  and  was  immedi- 
ately made  welcome,  nay  more,  I  was  allowed  to  sit 
in  the  stem  of  the  canoe  and  hold  the  line,  a  stout 
cord  about  sixty  yards  long  with  one  two-inch  hook 
baited  with  a  whole  fish  about  six  inches  long,  of  what 
kind  I  do  not  now  remember.  I  sat  upon  the  gunwale 
right  aft  and  held  the  line,  which  had  been  allowed  to 
run  out  about  half  its  length,  while  my  four  friends 
plied  their  paddles  with  all  their  might,  making  the 
canoe  fly  through  the  water,  the  object  being  to  make 
the  bait  appear  alive. 

It  was  most  exhilarating  for  me,  although  the 
exertion  under  that  blazing  sun  must  have  been  most 
exhausting  to  my  friends.  For  some  time  no  fish 
came,  as  we  careered  to  and  fro  across  the  bay,  and 
presently  taking  a  couple  of  turns  round  my  hand 
I  looked  forward  at  my  energetic  paddlemen.    Suddenly 


314 


The   Barracouta 


I  dc'scribcd  a  confused  sort  of  somersault,  and  struck 
the  wator  far  astern  of  the  ranoc.  For  me  the  rest  of 
the  episode,  until  I  found  myself  again  in  the  canoe, 
vomitinn;  gallons  of  sea-water,  as  it  seemed,  was  one 
hurly-burly  of  noise  and  rushing  waters.  I  was  told 
that  in  their  haste  to  rescue  me  the  men  had  capsized 
the  canoe,  which  was  but  a  trifle  to  these  amphibia, 
but  had  delayed  things  a  bit.  However,  as  soon  as 
I  began  to  take  an  interest  in  mundane  matters  again 
I  felt  considerable  pride  (although  none  of  the  credit 
was  mine)  in  seeing  a  Barracouta  nearly  five  feet  1  ng 
lying  in  the  bottom  of  the  canoe.  And  I  learned  with 
deep  satisfaction  that  evening  that  he  had  made  4s.  6d. 
for  my  fishermen,  who  had  peddled  him  around  the 
town.  From  thenceforward,  however,  I  was  rigidly 
debarred  any  participation  in  the  chase  of  the  Barra- 
couta, earnestly  as  I  pleaded  for  another  opportunity. 

My  next  passage  was  to  Kingston  in  a  small  schooner, 
when  a  great  deal  depended  upon  our  being  able  to 
catch  a  Barracouta,  for  our  provisions  ran  out,  and  we 
were  becalmed  a  long  way  off  the  land.  But  whether 
it  was  owing  to  the  light  wind  not  giving  the  schooner 
way  enough  through  the  water,  or  our  clumsy  attempts 
to  lure  them,  I  know  not,  never  a  Barracouta  could 
we  get  hold  of,  although  we  saw  many  swimming 
in  their  stealthy  manner  round  and  round  our  vessel. 

The  only  u-^li  we  eaught  was  a  shark,  which  was 
immediately  cut  up  and  cooked.  And  although  my 
hunger  was  fierce,  I  have  a  vivid  recollection  of  the 
nauseating  quality  of  that  food— I  can  recall  its  horrible 
flavour  now,  although  it  is  thirty-three  years  ago 
since  I  reluctantly  ate  it.  After  we  had  been  in  to 
Savanna  le  Mar  and  replenished  our  stock  of  provisions, 
and  consequently  had  no  need  of  fish,  we  caught 
several  fairly  large  specimens  of  Barracouta,  by  trailing 


Eastern  Specimens 


315 


a  lino  astern  when  the  schooner  was  running  with  a 
fro-h  breeze. 

From  Kin;;ston  I  went  to  Port  au  Prince  in  Hayti, 
and  in  that  wonderful  harbour  watclied  the  sharks 
and  tlie  Barracoota  prowhng  ravenously  about,  taking 
ncMT-ending  toll,  the  former  of  all  that  fell  from  the 
ship,  the  latter  of  all  sorts  of  fish.  It  was  like  watching 
a  continual  battle,  and,  indeed,  the  warfare  of  the 
>uI'nKirine  world  is  unending,  whether  we  can  see  it 
or  not. 

Then  I  returned  home,  and  after  a  season  in 
Li\(rpool  sailed  for  the  East  Indies  in  a  ship  where 
ni\-  lisliing  experiences  were  widely  extended.  The 
>tian;;ost  of  them  was  in  the  Indian  Ocean  son-ie  dis- 
tant (■  out  of  sight  of  Mauritius,  to  the  eastward  of  it. 
Tlu'  mate  had  been  unsuccessfully  trolling  for  dolphin 
with  a  jMcce  of  red  bunting,  the  ship  sailing  about 
fnnr  knots  an  hour.  And  to  my  great  delight  he 
prmutled  me  to  attend  to  his  linf;  while  he  went  to 
'  take  the  sun.'  I  sat  on  the  wheel  grating  holding 
the  line,  as  happy  as  I  could  be,  and  fully  expecting 
to  succeed  where  the  mate  had  failed  (I  had  done  so 
before),  but  without  any  success  until  eight  bells,  when 
the  mate  went  below  to  work  up  the  ship's  position. 
He  had  hardly  disappeared  when  I  felt  a  tremendous 
hv^  at  the  line,  and  springing  to  my  feet  I  hauled 
with  all  my  might.  But  my  surprise  was  too  great  for 
wurds,  when,  on  landing  my  fish,  I  found  it  to  be  a 
goodly  Barracouta  of  about  ten  pounds'  weight, 
and  identical  in  appearance  with  those  I  had  been 
Mjuainted  with  in  the  West  Indies. 

Fearful  lest  I  should  be  superseded  in  my  pleasant 
ta-k,  I  unhooked  my  prize  as  quietly  as  possible,  got 
the  relieved  man  from  the  wheel  to  take  it  forward, 
nnd  resumed  my  fishing,  landing  two  others  in  quick 


3i6 


The  Barracouta 


m 


succession.  When  the  mate  returned  to  his  line  he 
was  astounded  to  see  what  kind  of  fish  I  had  caught, 
having  no  idea  that  they  were  a  deep-sea  fish.  Much 
to  his  chpgrin  no  more  were  caught,  either  then  or 
afterwards.  Not  only  so,  but  that  was  the  only  time 
I  have  ever  seen  or  heard  of  them  being  taken  far  at 
se  But,  of  course,  I  do  not  suppose  ours  was  a 
unique  case.  They  must  be  a  pelagic  deep-sea  fish, 
only  scarce  in  number,  and  consequently  seldom  seen. 
After  all,  the  opportunities  that  ordinary  sailors  have  in 
sailing  ships  (they  have  none  in  steamers)  of  becoming 
acquainted  with  deep-sea  fish  are  very  scanty.  And 
if  a  man  has  no  liking  for  natural  history  study  h- 
may  be  like  a  man  who  sailed  with  us  in  the  '  Cachalot ' 
the  whole  voyage,  and  as  he  asserted  afterwards, 
owing  to  his  being  short-sighted,  never  saw  a  whale ! 

After  that  well-remembered  encounter  with  the 
Barracouta  in  the  Indian  Ocean,  it  was  eighteen  months 
before  I  saw  another.  The  next  time  was  while  I  was 
lamp-trimmer  in  a  small  steamer  called  the  *  Helen 
McGregor,'  running  between  Sydney,  N.S.W.,  and 
Grafton,  Clarence  River.  I  had  been  told  by  a  fellow 
'  lamps  '  who  was  in  another  ship  of  the  same  company, 
the  '  New  England,'  that  if  I  got  a  long  stout  line  and 
good  hooks  I  might  get  fish  on  the  coast  sometimes 
by  trolling,  especially  between  the  North  and  South 
Solitary  Islands.  Always  enthusiastic  about  fishing, 
I  obtained  the  requisite  tackle  at  the  first  opportunity, 
although  I  felt  very  sceptical  as  to  any  fish  coming 
near  enough  to  the  wake  of  our  screw. 

However,  ihat  next  passage,  having  secreted  a 
little  white  and  scarlet  bunting  from  the  store  in  Sydney 
I  mounted  the  poop  when  the  vessel  was  off  Port 
Stephens  just  after  daybreak  one  morning  and  started. 
To  my  great  satisfaction  after  only  a  few  minutes' 


Australian   'Couters  317 

waiting'  I  rau;:^lit  a  fine  fish,  not  a  Barracouta,  but  a 
!.i(Ii  more  ck-gant  and  beautiful  creature,  called 
triv  illy  a  '  yellr)w  tail,'  from  the  bright  gold  colour 
of  its  fins  and  tail.  I  was  delighted  at  my  succes>, 
and  as  soon  as  I  had  disposed  of  my  prize  to  the  cook 
(strangely  I  never  cared  what  became  of  my  fish  after 
I  hid  (  lught  them  and  gloated  over  them  for  a  little 
while),  I  tried  again,  shortly  afterwards  capturing 
fine  B.rracouta. 

But  now  I  was  sorely  puzzled.  There  was  between 
this  and  all  other  Barracouta  I  liad  ever  seen  one 
radical  difference,  it  was  practically  scaltless,  at 
least  a  -  much  so  as  a  mackerel,  while  the  others  had 
been  all  completely  clad  in  scales.  In  every  other 
respect,  as  far  as  I  could  see  or  remember,  thcv  were 
identical.  This,  however,  was  so  grc.  t  a  difference 
that  I  could  only  account  for  it  by  supposing  that  they 
were  a  different  species.  Certainly  they  were  both 
known  as  Barracouta,  and  no  one  has  seemed  to  notice 
that  there  was  any  difference. 

While  I  remained  in  that  sn.  ill  steamer  I  caught 
many,  caught  them  right  up  to  the  turbulent  edge 
of  the  Clarence  River  Bar  ar  1  I  have  no  doubt  might 
have  done  so  in  the  salt  es.  .arv  of  the  river  itself, 
but  that  once  inside  the  Bar  I  as  always  too  busy 
with  other  matters  for  fishmg.  I  noticed,  or  I  thought 
I  did,  that  these  naked  Barracouta  were  finer-flavoured 
than  the  West  Indian  variety,  but  that  may  have  been 
fancy. 

Then  I  left  the  Northern  Australian  trade  and  went 
south,  where,  though  I  doubt  not  Barracouta  were 
plentiful,  especially  between  Wilson's  Promontory 
and  Oueenscliff,  Port  Philip  Heads,  I  was  not  allowed 
to  li=a  over  the  taffrail,  anl  was  compelled  to  limit 
my  sport  to  ordinary  bottom  fishing  while  stiU    in 


3i8 


The   Barracouta 


Hobson's  Bay  or  Aiickldiid  Harl)()ur,  the  lattor  (he 
most  prohfic:  place  for  fisliing  in  that  I  irivc  ever 
known. 

But  getting  tired  of  good  living,  good  pay,  and  light 
work,  I  shipped  for  England  via  Burmah,  and  having 
put  into  Port  Elizabeth  on  the  way  home,  we  coasted 
round  Cape  Colony,  at  no  great  distance  from  the 
land  all  the  way.  And  for  an  ordinary  merchantship 
we  caught  a  surprising  number  of  Barracouta,  '  Snoek,' 
as  they  are  called  locally,  which  I  found  were  nakc'd 
of  scales  like  those  of  Australia.  This  was  very  strange 
to  me,  as  those  caught  in  the  Indian  Ocean  off  Mauritius 
were  identical,  as  far  as  I  could  see,  with  the  West 
Indian  variety,  certainly  in  point  of  scales  they  were. 

These  South  African  Barracouta,  or  Snoek,  were 
tremendously  voracious.  I  have  known  them  to  snap 
at  the  bare  hook,  and  I  have  little  doubt  bcit  that 
they  are  responsible  for  the  frequent  losses  of  patent 
log-proi)cllers,  the  small  four-bladed  fan  that  revolves 
on  a  patent  log,  faster  or  slower  according  to  the 
speed  of  the  vessel  behind  which  it  is  tc^red,  and 
registers  the  number  of  miles  travelled  on  dials. 

My  ne.xt  experience  of  Barracouta  was  in  the 
'  Cachalot,'  where,  in  iced,  I  made  the  acquaintance 
of  many  new  kinds  of  fish,  and  vastly  enjoyed  the 
pleasure  of  noting  their  habits,  apart  altogether 
from  the  joy  of  making  many  a  good  meal  when 
without  them  we  should  have  gone  hungry.  On  the 
coast  of  New  Zealand,  the  Maories  taught  us  a  novel 
plan  of  catching  Barracouta,  but  only  possible  to  any 
extent  where  the  fish  were  as  plentiful  as  they  were 
there.  In  no  other  place  have  I  seen  the  Barracouta 
swim  in  shoals  of  hundreds  of  thousands,  almost  as 
closely  packed  as  mackerel.  But  then  I  do  not  believe 
that  there  is  any  sea  in  the  world  so  full  of  fish  as  that 


Maori   Fishing 


319 


wluVh  washes  the  shores  and  fills  the  harbours  of  New 
ZtMl.iiid,  the  beautiful  Britain  of  the  South. 

All  around   tlie  coasts  of  the   ^liddlo  and   South 
Minds,    according    to    tlie    season    of    the   year,    the 
lurr.Kouta  swarm,  in  great  schools  as  I  have 'said, 
and  the  orthodox  method  of  entrapping  them,  invented 
by  the   Maories,    is   as   follows  :— Take   a   stout   rod, 
say  eight  to  ten  feet  in  length,  or  rather  a  pole,  fairly 
rigid  and  tough,  but  n.  t  too  heavy.     To  the  end  of 
it  secure  a  piece  of  strong  fishing  line  five  or  si.x  feet 
in  length.     To  the  free  end  of  this  line  attach  a  lure 
made  as  follows  :    A   piece  of   red   pine    (rimu)  four 
inches  long,  one  inch  wide  and  half  an  inch  thick,  is 
scraped  smooth  and  bright  so  that  it  will  glow  crimson 
when  wet.     Through  one  end  of  it  is  driven  a  two-inch 
nail,  which  is  carefully  bent  upward  and  filed  sharp. 
Then  this  lure  is  fastened  to  the  line  in  such  a  manner 
that,  in  case  of  the  splitting  of  the  wood,  the  fish  shall 
not  be  lost.     Now  the  boat,  in  which  two  fishermen 
s!t  to  windward  facing  forward,  is  sailed  briskly  to 
and  fro,  the  fishermen  meanwhile  whipping  the  water 
occasionally  until  a  Barracouta  snaps  at  the  bait,  and 
with  a  dexterous  swing  is  flung  into  the  boat  where, 
as  there  is  no  barb  on  the  hook,  he  immediately  falls 
off.    At  the  same  time  the  peak  halyards  are  let  go, 
so  that  the  boat's  way  is  deadened  and  the  fishermen 
ply  their  poles  energetically. 

If  they  have  struck  a  school,  the  fish  rise  and  faU 
into  the  boat  with  a  rhythmical  regularity,  every 
sweep  of  the  bait  into  the  water  securing  its  fish.  So 
rapid  is  the  process,  that  I  have  seen  thirty  dozen  fine 
tish,  none  under  six  or  seven  pounds  in  weight,  shipped 
in  an  hour,  and  but  for  the  fact  that  the  fisher- 
men's arms  refused  duty  and  imperatively  required 
a  little  rest  there  was  no  reason  why  this  wholesale 


320 


The  Barracouta 


^^i 


.1 


capture  should  not  have  gone  on.    Before,  however 
he  wearied  arms  had  rested  sufficient  y  the  school  had 
moved  off.  nor  were  any  more  caught  that  day      But 
rihe  fishermen  sold  them  to  curers  at  an  all-round 
price  of  eighteenpence  ner  dozen,  the  catch,  forty-five 
killings  worth,  could  not  be  called  a  bad  afternoons 
work      We,  however,  found  our  whaleboat  scarcely 
handv   enough   for   this   fishing,    and.    moreover    as 
b^ttl  hshin'g  was  so  good,  and  the  hsh  caught  - 
that   way   were   much   superior   to   the   Barracouta. 
we  did  not  trouble  them  very  much. 

As  with  the  dolphin.  I  discovered  that  after  aU 
it  was  not  absolutely  necessary  to  have  a  movmg 
bait  in  order  to  catch  Barracouta.     It  so  happened 
thlt,  durmg  our  stay  in  Stc.rt's  Island  (Port  Wd^m 
I  was  made  night  watchman,  and  it  was  my  pleasan. 
L^tTme  every  morning  to  watch  for  the  first  breaking 
of  d"  and  begin  fishing.    While  it  was  yet  dark  no 
a  nibble  would  be  f.lt.  then  as  the  first  tender  streamers 
of  colour  spread  over  the  heavens,  a  stray  tug  or  so 
would  be  felt,  and  by  the  time  the  sun  himself  appeared 
fish  could  be  hauled  up  at  a  tremendous  rate. 

One  morning,  for  some  reason  unknown  to  me 
the  fish  were  slow  at  beginning  to  bite,  and  I  determined 
to  let  them  have  plenty  of  time.     So.  leaning  far  over 
the   taffraii.   looking   down   into  the   limpid   depths 
I  saw  several  Barracouta  stealing  along.     For  severa^ 
minutes   I   watched   their  stealthy   movements  with 
"reat  nterest.  until  suddenly  I  saw  one  of  them  swun 
to  a  piece  of  fish  I  had  dropped  overboard  and  swallow 
it      I  was  much  surprised,  but  immediately  reasoned 
that  as  he  would  swallow  a  still  morsel,  there  should 
be  no  reason  why  he  would  not  take  a  quiet  bait  with 
a  hook  in  it.     So  I  hastened  and  got  a  strip  of  fish 
put  it  on  a  hook,  and  let  it  drift  slowly  astern  with  the 


\     f 


^^.^^rVi^^^iy^^^-^^-'rf^'*^ 


■OOKINC    DOWN    INTO    THE    LIMPID    DKI'THS.    I    SAW 
SKVKKAD   BARU.M'OITA    STKALINC    ALONG." 


\ 


:3 


:*. 


Lovers  Labour  Lost  321 

little  ebb  that  was  gliding  past  us.  In  very  leisurely 
fashion  one  of  the  iish  swam  to  it,  smelt  it,  tasted  it, 
but  when  I  struck  he  opened  his  moutli  and  I  pulled 
the  bait  out.  Chagrined,  but  still  hopeful,  I  slacked 
away  again  with  the  same  result  three  times.  Then 
I  thought  I  would  let  him  swallow  it,  and  I  waited  to 
see  ii  he  would  do  so.  But  no,  he  waited  quite  two 
or  throe  minutes  to  see,  apparently,  whether  I  would 
pull  ii  out  of  his  mouth  again.  Finding  that  I  did  not, 
he  turned  round  to  swim  away,  and  I  had  him.  And 
by  pursuing  the  same  tactics  I  secured  the  whole 
l)arty  in  less  than  an  hour,  eleven  of  them,  all  over  ten 
poun"s  •  -eiglit  eaeh. 

while  in  Nev/  Zealand  I  heard  of  an  exploit  on 
the  part  of  the  Barracouta  which  tilled  me  with  sym- 
pathy for  the  persons  affected  by  it.     It  gives  one 
a  very  fair  idea  of  the  rapacity  of  these  fish,  and  also 
of  the  numerous  hindrances  with  which  public-spirited 
individuals  have  often  to  contend  in  their  efforts  to 
do  good   to   their   fellow-men   generally.      For  very 
many  years  it  had  been  the  object  of  keen  desire  on' 
the  part  of  enthusiastic  pisciculturists  to  introduce 
the  salmon  and  trout  to  the  beautiful  rivers  of  New 
Zealand.     Strangely    enough,    while    the    engirdling 
seas  of  those  lovely  islands  produce  such  a  variety 
and  bountiful  supply  of  fish  as  could  be  excelled  by 
no  other  waters  in  the  world,  the  streams,  eminently 
titted  to  be  the  homes  of  such  valuable  food  fishes  as 
salmon   and   trout,  were  almost  destitute  of  fish,  at 
any  rate  there  were  none  worth  taking  any  account 
of,  either  for  sport  or  food.     So,  at  very  great  cost 
and  with  an  immense  amount  of  care,  quantities  of 
salmon  and  trout  ova  were  shipped  from  home  and 
brought  to  New  Zealand. 

In  these  days  of   swift  colonial-going  steamships 

21 


322 


The  Barracouta 


3S. 


'it. 


I 


universally  fitted  with  refrigerators,  the  safe  carriage 
of  ova  scientifically  packed  in  trays  of  wet  moss  to 
the  Antipodes  is  a  comparatively  easy  matter,  but  in 
the  days  of  which  I  write,  because  of  the  difficulty  of 
keeping  the  ova  at  a  uniformly  low  temperature,  not 
so  low  as  to  kill  the  hfe-germs,  and  not  so  high  as  to 
hatch  out  the  fry  prematurely,  it  was  no  uncommon 
thing  for  a  whole  consignment  of  many  hundreds  of 
thousands  of  ova  to  arrive  in  New  Zealand  or  Australia 
putrefied.  And  in  any  case  the  consignees  were  over- 
joyed if  they  were  able  to  place  in  colonial  waters  ten 
per  cent,  of  the  Uving  ova  which  had  been  despatclied 
to  them. 

Then  came  the  long  and  patient  development  of 
the  ova  into  fry  and  of  the  fry  into  mature  fish,  a 
work  which  could  only  be  carried  out  successfulh  by 
the  aid  of  an  intense  devotion  to,  and  perfect  knowleuge 
of,  the  business.  Such  a  work  had  been  success- 
fully carried  out  in  the  upper  reaches  of  the  pretty 
little  river  Clutha  in  Otago.  Step  by  step  the  embryo 
salmon  had  progressed  until  they  had  reached,  a  gooaly 
company  of  them,  the  '  parr  '  stage  of  their  career. 
Then,  following  their  natural  instincts,  they  journeyed 
towards  the  sea,  and  in  due  course  reached  the  estuary 
of  the  river,  which  was  guarded  by  a  bar,  as  indeed 
are  most  if  not  all  the  rivers  of  New  Zealand. 

Gaily  the  juvenile  salmon  disported  themselves 
in  the  salt  water  before  making  their  exit  into  the 
vast  Pacific  smiling  without.  Then  there  crossed 
the  bar  into  the  river  a  school  of  Barracouta,  their 
long  lilhe  bodies  darting  hitlier  and  thither  in  quest 
of  pre>.  Tliey  met  the  young  salmon,  and,  oh  the 
pity  of  it,  in  a  few  minutes  not  a  solitary  parr  was 
left  to  reward  the  patient  watchers  up  the  river  with 
the  sight  of  a  fcU-fed  young  salmon  returning  to  his 


Not  Knowable  at  Home      323 

b'Hiplace  from  the  fattening  sea.  The  destruction 
Wis  complete,  ahnost  instantan  ous,  and  was  indeed 
a  heavy  blow  to  tl  c  high  hopes  that  had  been  raised. 
()[  (Hirse  the  Barracouta  were  not  at  all  to  blame. 
Tluv  did  bjt  obey  their  predator"  instincts,  but  it 
c.  tainly  was  most  unfortunate  thai  they  should  have 
fallen  in  with  so  helpless  and  withal  so  valuable  a 
comp.  ly  of  yt  ng  fish,  when  there  were  myriads 
of  others  in  I  he  si.a  just  as  pleasant  to  their  taste,  and 
til      won!  !  never  have  be  n  missed  by  anybody. 

Of  the  life  ^  'story  of  the  Barracouta  there  is  little 
to  tell,  for  the  usual  reason — utter  inability  to  get  at 
the  facts.  But  there  is  considerable  ground  for  believ- 
ing 'lat  in  Australasia  and  South  Africa  at  least, 
the  .-.cale  ss  variety  follow  much  the  same  routine 
of  domestic  arrangements  as  do  the  mackerel  at  home. 

0  Iv  of  course  in  vastly  reduced  numbers.  For  it 
must  not  be  lost  sight  of  that  so  voracious  is  the  Barra- 
couta, and  to  such  an  imposing  size  does  he  grow,  that 
liN  numbers  must  be  kept  down,  or  he  would  speedily 
d  populate  the  seas  which  are  his  favourite  resort. 
("omparcd    with    the    dolphin,    bonito,   and    albacore, 

1  should  not  call  the  Barracouta  a  swift  fish.  I 
consider  him  for  instance,  no  match  for  the  flying-fish 
in  jioint  of  speed,  and  I  think  if  he  were  driven  to  feed 
upon  flyin:;-fish  alone,  his  numbers  would  speedily 
dvnulle.  But  there  is  ;ihva\ :,  to  be  found  in  the 
0  n  for  such  fish  as  the  Barracouta  a  never-failing 
siipplv  of  squid,  and  upon  these  unhandsome  but 
nit  it  useful  molluscs  the  Barracouta  of  the  deep  sea 
m\\>[  hugely  depend. 

Those  which  we  causrht  in  the  Indian  Ocean  had 
their  maws  fairly  full,  but  not  of  llying-fish.  They 
Were  small  fish  about  the  size  of  a  sprat,  but  evidently 
b'.lii!i:,'ing  to  some  variety  of  th.e  mackerel  tribe,  and 


.  •  *^  -. 


324 


The  Barracouta 


-* 


-,■   -x 


It 

I 


squid.  Evidently  our  visitors  had  been  in  no  danger 
of  starving.  But  that  is  perhaps  a  superfluous  oh.-  Tva- 
tion,  since  it  would  be  hard  to  point  out  any  fish  that 
is,  so  vast  and  universal  is  the  provision  made  by  the 
Creator  for  their  supply.  Along  rhc  South  African 
coast  and  in  its  spacious  harbours,  the  Barracouta 
revels  in  an  infinite  abundance  of  food,  supplying 
himself  in  the  enormous  quantites  of  his  own  young 
fry  the  needs  of  others.  And  incidentally  feeding 
himself  of  course,  since  like  all  other  deep-sea  lish, 
except  the  shark,  it  makes  not  the  slightest  difference 
to  him  which  he  eats,  his  own  young,  or  another's. 

The  Barracouta  of  the  West  Indies  and  the  Gulf 
of  Mexico,  like  the  hake  of  our  own  coasts,  is  a  com- 
paratively scanty  species.  Not  only  is  he  distinctly 
different '  from  the  Southern  Barracouta  by  reason 
of  his  armour  of  scales  but  also  in  his  habits  and 
numbers.  Like  the  shark  he  is  an  apparently  morose, 
solitary  fish.  Very  seldom  indeed  are  two  seen  together, 
as  if  they  could  not  bear  to  share  any  spoil,  needing 
all  they  can  obtain  for  their  own  capacious  stomachs. 
And  it  is  abundantly  evident  that  they  do  not  breed 
in  such  numbers  either,  since  sho  '.s  of  them  at  any 
age  are  never  seen.  Also  the  great  size  to  which  they 
attain  is  not  even  approached  by  the  scaleless  Barra- 
couta, v'hich  from  a  comparison  of  their  habits  is  just 
what  might  reasonably  be  expected.  Like  restless 
phantoms  they  roam  those  beautiful  seas,  bringing  fear 
and  destruction  with  them  both  for  their  own  kind 
and  man.  But  whether  the  terror  in  which  they  are 
held  by  the  latter  has  any  foundation  in  fact  I  have 
been  quite  i  nable  to  learn. 

There  are  several  varieties  of  Barracouta  inhabiting 
the  deep  sea,  that  is  to  say,  living  at  very  considerable 
depths,  but  naturally  they  are  seldom  seen.    Such 


Good'bye  to  the  Fish        325 


cpvimcns  as  there  are  to  be  found  in  musenms  present 
11  the  ferocious  characteristics  of  the  West  India 
\  iiiety,  but  in  none  is  this  more  marked  tlian  in  a 
^prcies  to  which  the  appellation  of  Thyrsitops  violacens 
iits  been  given  by  the  American  ichthyologists, 
Pfs.  Goode  and  Bean.  The  type-specimen,  however, 
UMS  caught  as  far  north  as  the  Le  Have  Bank,  oft 
the  New  England  coast,  at  a  depth  of  one  hundred 
and  twenty-five  fathoms,  which  goes  tc  show  that 
tlio  range  of  this  fish  is  quite  as  extensive  as  that  of 
the  mackerel,  v/ith  which,  indeed,  it  is  said  by  some 
naturalists  to  be  allied.  And  with  this  brief  allusion 
to  the  deep-sea  varieties  of  the  Barracouta  we  will 
1)1(1  the  whole  predatory  family  farewell. 

With  this  chapter  I  conclude  my  sketches  of  deep- 
sea  fish.  Not,  as  it  will  be  at  once  observed,  because 
of  the  exhaustion  of  the  subject,  but  because  of  the 
limitations  of  space.  There  are  a  number  of  other 
twh  inhabiting  the  deep  sea  with  which,  when  they 
have  ventured  near  the  surface  or  the  shore,  I  have 
had  the  pleasure  of  acquaintance.  Chief  among 
them,  in  my  estimation,  is  the  magnificent  Halibut 
or  gigantic  flat-hsh,  which  inhabits  the  North  Atlantic 
aiui  has  been  caught  at  the  immense  depth  of  two 
thousand  five  hundred  feet.  There  are  few  more 
satisfactory  sensations  at  sea  than  that  of  finding 
one  of  these  splendid  succulent  fish  on  one's  line, 
and  after  a  quarter  of  an  hour's  most  serious  toil 
1  ringing  the  great  buckler-like  body,  despite  its 
df^Sged  pulling  against  you,  to  the  surface  and  trans- 
!i  rring  it  to  the  ship. 

Tliese  are  the  events  fr^^m  which  the  amateur 
li-lnrman  reckons.  How  far  down  in  the  ocean's 
\a:hys  thf  flat  lishes  really  wander  no  one  knows 
wall  any  degree  of  certainty— that  they  have  been 


j3" 


'=£fe>y*?> 


326 


The  Barracouta 


'     » 

.  ••    ■  ■>r. 


I 


brought  up  in  the  trawl  from  immense  depths  is  well 
known.  And  not  outre  forms  oitlier,  hke  the  majority 
of  the  deep-down  fish,  but  faniih.ir  flat  fish  such  as 
soles  and  flounders.  It  would  seem  as  if  the  peculiar 
shape  exactly  fitted  tlieiii  for  the  sti.iii^e  conditions 
of  i)ressure  and  the  necessity  for  concealment  wliicli 
certainly  arc  characteristic  of  profound  ocean  depths. 
But  it  is  not  to  be  expected  that,  however  valuable 
as  food  the  fish  may  be,  any  fishery  can  be  profitably 
carried  on  which  necessitates  the  working  of  tlie 
gear  at  such  great  deptlis.  It  is  altogether  too  tedious 
and  expensive  to  be  profitable.  Therefore  the  in- 
habitants of  ocean's  profundities  are  likely  to  remain 
undisturbed  by  man  until  the  end  of  things,  ahhou^h 
it  be  unsafe  to  prophesy. 

I  conclude  my  remarks  on  fish  by  a  short  account 
of  an  extraordinary  day's  sport  I  once  had  on  the  top 
of  a  mountain  (a  submerged  one,  of  course)  in  the 
middle  of  the  South  Pacific,  as  showing  hov/  colonies 
of  fish  are  formed  in  apparently  the  most  unlikely 
oases,  if  one  may  call  them  so,  of  ocean.  This  particular 
place  was  well  to  the  nortli  of  New  Zealand,  and  some- 
where in  the  deepest  part  yet  discovered  of  the  ocean. 
I  do  not  know  its  exact  position,  but  I  heard  the 
skipper  say  tha  ^  was  part  of  a  mountain  range 
to  which  the  Himalayas  must  yield  place  for  height, 
and  so  I  suppose  it  must  have  been  part  of  the 
Kermadec  Group. 

One  afternoon,  as  we  sailed  gently  along  before  a 
very  light  breeze,  we  suddenly  noticed  a  change  in 
the  colour  of  the  water,  an  infallible  sign  of  shallowing 
or  of  a  shoal  of  fish.  And  as  we  entered  upon  tlie 
discoloured  area  of  sea,  which  came  so  abruptly  that 
the  edge  of  the  deep  blue  was  very  plainly  marked, 
the  wind  died  away  to  a  flat  calm.    The  deep-sea 


A  Glorious  Haul 


327 


load  was  cast  and  gave  us  sixty-five  fathoms,  sand  and 
shell  bottom.     The  skipper,  being  a  great  fisherman, 
produced  a  line,  and  baiting  the  hooks  with  a  piece  of 
fresh  beef  (we  were  only  three  days  out  from  Auckland) 
dropped   thein   overboard.     The   moment   it    tou<  hed 
bottom  he  began  to  haul  up  in  the  greatest  state  of 
excitement,   calling  at    the    same    time    for    any  and 
everybody  who  had  any  suitable  fishing  tackle  to  get 
to  work  fishing.     At  which  there  was  a  great  rush, 
intensified    when    the    skipper    pantingly    hauled    on 
board  two  magnificent  fish  of  a  kind  I  have  never  seen 
before   or  since.     They   were  like   a  glorified   perch, 
superbly  coloured  and  weighing  over  twenty  pounds 
each.     The  mate,  who  had  his  line  down  next,  ex- 
ultingly  hauled  up  a  pair  of  Kauwhai,  the  huge  New 
Zealand  mullet,  of  about  ten  pounds  each.     And  then 
all  iiands  except  two  joined  in  the  fun. 

Such  a  variety  of  fish  I  never  saw  at  one  time. 
There  w^re  all  the  well-known  New  Zealand  favourites 
except  the  barracouta  and  the  rock  cod.     Snapper, 
cavalle,  groper,  the  last  a  monster  with  a  mouth  like 
the  opening  of  a  coal  sack,  bat  in  all  other  respects 
like  a  huge  cod,  except  that  he  had  big  scales  and 
a  cod  has  small  ones.     Yellow-tail   there  were  and 
trumpeter,    and   at   least   as   many  more   species   of 
whose  names  I  have  not  the  least    idea.      We  were 
becalmed  tor  about    three   hours  and   we  caught   at 
least  ten  hundredweight  of  fish  in  a  shallow  area  of 
certainly  not    more   than   a  square    mile   in   extent, 
which    was    the   summit  of   a    mountain    that    rose 
almost    sheer    from    the    sea    bed     for   over    thirty 
thousand   feet. 

The  event  was  a  fruitful  topic  of  conversation 
among  us  all  the  rest  of  tliat  voyage,  for  none  of  us 
had  ever  known  of  the  like  before,  and  we  could  not 


f.ii 


328 


The  Barracouta 


help  wondering  and  wondering  how  so  vast  a  number 
of  so  many  different  kinds  of  t'.sh  could  have  gathered 
in  that  lonely  spot  of  shallow  ocean  in  the  midst  of 
those  mighty  depths. 


•'-     .J 


It 


iber 
ered 
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THE   BIRDS    OF    THE   SEA 


•-. .,  .'-k... 


MICROCOPY    RESOLUTION    TEST    CHART 

ANSI  nra    SO   TEST  CHART   No    2 


1.0 


I.I 


Li  |2B 

•  so    *•= 

1: 14* 


|j|Z5 
12.2 

2.0 
1.8 


1.25 


1.4 


1.6 


A     APPLIED  l^yMGE     Inr 


"...lesler.   New   'ork         ■'.fcc 
■'5/   482  -  D300  -  Phone 

■■f"    i8S  -   'jSS  -  l"o. 


— 1 


w 


CHAPTER   XXIII 


THE    ALBATPOSS 

NO  bird  that  flies  is  more  rightfully  entitled  to  the 
proud  name  of  King  of  the  Sea  Air  than  is  the  beau- 
tiful subject  of  the  present  story.  Nor  are  there 
p.ny  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  air  whose  home  is  about 
the  raging  billows  to  whom  more  mystery,  more  poetical 
personality,  can  be  attached  than  the  Albatross.  There 
is  something  about  him  which  differentiates  him  from 
all  other  sea  birds,  yes,  from  all  other  birds  that  fly. 
Principally  because,  in  spite  of  his  great  size,  he  is  at 
home  only  on  the  wing,  and  does  not  seem  to  require 
rest.  In  this  latter  particular  he  is  even  surpassed 
by  the  tiny  stormy  petrel,  but  one  can  hardly  compare 
the  little  untiring  flutterer  that  skips  so  blithely  from 
crest  to  crest  of  the  waves  with  the  great  calm  bird 
that  hovers  majestically  in  mid-air,  needing  not  to 
give  one  single  flap  of  his  wide-spreading  wings  in 
order  to  maintain  his  position  against  the  utmost 
force   of  the  storm. 

Nothing  can  be  better  calculated  to  impress  the 
beholder  with  the  marvellous  wisdom  of  the  Creator 
in  fitting  His  creatures  for  their  position  in  the  world 
than  the  sight  of  an  Albatross  bearing  a  ship  company 
in  the  lone  Southern  Ocean.  Let  the  vessel,  handled 
by  the  most  courageous  and  skilful  captain,  put  on 
what  speed  she  may  before  the  tremendous  thrust  of 

33' 


332 


The  Albatross 


1.-.! 
1 


the  wcstfily  palo,  level  with  her  mizenmast  head  and  a 
little  to  windward  is  poised  her  snowy  companion, 
apparently  motionless,  except  lor  an  almost  impur- 
ceptible  bending  of  the  wings  or  tail  for  steering 
purjwses.  The  bird  seems  to  be  held  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  ship  by  some  non-understandable  magnetic 
force,  for  in  no  other  way  does  his  effortless  main- 
tenance of  station  apix?ar  possible  in  relation  to  the 
sliip  wlnle  the  latter  is  fleeing  over  the  ocean  at  tl)e 
rate  of  from  fifteen  to  seventeen  miles  an  hour. 

And  tlien,  if  aught  be  dropped  from  the  ship, 
the  great  bird  gives  a  sudden  swerve,  sometimes 
rearing  in  a  hnri/iontal  position  and,  stretdiing  forward 
his  wi(le-wcl)bcd  feet,  descL'nding  almost  straight 
upon  the  s})ot  where  his  piercing  eye  can  see  something 
that  may  be  eatable.  If  that  something  has  sunk, 
the  Albatross  will  dive,  despite  the  hampering  of  his 
huge  wings,  and  by  great  exertions  swim  downward. 
Then,  when  the  food  has  been  secured,  or  whatever  is 
there  found  to  be  eatable,  the  bird  takes  off  from 
the  crest  of  a  wave,  just  melts  into  the  air  as  it  were, 
without  any  exertion,  and  although  the  ship  by  this 
time  may  be  out  of  sight,  an  inappreciable  portion  of 
time  serves  to  bring  her  attendant  into  station  again. 

Or  in  the  midst  of  his  steady  accompanying  of 
the  \  essel  he  will  suddenly  swerve  to  one  side  or  other, 
as  the  case  may  be,  and  disappear,  so  swiftly  yet  so 
easily  that  the  eye  can  barely  follow  him.  The  time 
passes,  there  is  a  sense  of  loss,  for  indeed  in  those 
latitudes  during  a  heavy  gale,  their  normal  weather, 
the  sea  seems  very  lonely  ;  when  presently,  behoM 
our  friend  is  visil)le  in  his  old  station,  his  beautiful 
snowy  Iiead  with  its  dark  solemn  eyes  turning  gravelv 
from  side  to  side  in  keenest  watchfulness.  As  he  went, 
so  he  returns,  so  he  remains,  without  effort,  and  the 


At   Home  Only  in  Air       333 

mind  ;:^ro\v3  bewildered  in  the  attempt  to  understand 
how  he  can,  apparently  with  such  consummate  ease, 
re-^ist  the  fury  of  the  wind. 

Not  that  it  would  be  correct  to  sav  that  the  Alba- 
tross never  does  llap  his  wings.  When  rising  from 
tlie  sea,  if  the  latter  is  calm,  it  appears  necessary 
for  liim  to  put  forth  all  liis  undoubtedly  great  strength 
in  order  to  effect  his  purpose  Spreading  his  wings 
wide,  he  commences  to  run  along  the  sea-surface, 
the  beating  of  his  feet  against  the  water  being  audible 
a  long  way  off  on  a  calm  day.  At  the  same  time  the 
great  wings  flap  heavily  a:,  do  a  pelican's,  until,  by 
one  supreme  effort,  the  body  is  lifted  into  the  air. 
and  immediately  assumes  its  normally  calm  pose, 
that  makes  it  appear  as  if  the  bird  by  the  slightest 
alteration  in  the  plane  of  his  wings  and  tail  were  able 
to  make  the  air  bear  him  whithersoever  he  wishes  to 
go,  even  in  the  teeth  of  an  on-rushing  storm. 

But  before  we  go  any  further,  a  little  description 
of  the  bird  is  necessary,  for  I  have  discovered  long 
since  that  it  is  not  wise  to  take  for  granted  that  readers 
know  the  appearance  of  even  the  commonest  of  sea- 
birds,  although  almost  every  good  general  museum 
possesses  one.  The  Albatross  is  about  the  size  of  a 
medium  goose,  but  not  so  '  stockily  '  built,  and  with 
a  much  shorter  neck.  The  beak  is  pale  yellow  in 
colour,  from  eight  to  ten  inches  in  length,  with  nostril> 
on  the  upper  mandible  about  two  inches  from  its  root. 
This  upper  mandible  has  a  formidable-looking  hook 
at  tht  end,  which  curves  down  over  the  point  of  the 
lower  mandible  to  a  length  of  one  and  a  half  inches 
and  tapers  to  a  very  keen  point.  At  the  junction 
of  the  mandibles  with  the  head  they  are  capable  of 
great  expansion,  permitting  the  bird  to  swallow 
masses  of  food,  such  as  blubber,  at  least  four  inches 


334 


The  Albatross 


j.;^- 


square,  although  I  buheve  I  have  seen  them  swallow 
larger  pitccs  than  that. 

But  tlie  peculiarly  distinctive  feature  of  the  Alba- 
tross is  its  great  pair  of  wings.  They  have  three 
joints,  and  when  wide-spread  the  front  edges  make 
almost  perfect  right  angles  with  the  body.  And 
their  extent  from  tip  to  tip  is  sometimes  as  much  as 
sixteen  feet,  or  over  five  yards.  Their  breadth  from 
front  to  back  is  about  eiglit  inches,  but  at  the  last 
joint  they  begin  to  taper  off  to  a  point.  The  colour 
of  the  upper  part  of  the  wing  is  invariably  a  dark 
brown,  which  often  extends  acrors  the  back,  while 
that  of  the  rest  of  the  body  is  pure  white. 

The  feathers  are  very  thick  and  deep,  and  beneath 
them  there  is  a  coating  of  the  softest  down,  as  line 
as  the  best  of  that  obtained  from  the  eider  duck. 
But  I  regret  to  say  that  this  pure  soft  white  fluff 
is  the  home  of  a  multitude  of  parasites,  from  which 
none  of  the  birds  are  free.  The  flesh  of  the  bird  is, 
as  might  be  expected  from  its  habits,  exceedingly 
tough  ;  in  colour  it  is  nearly  black,  becoming  quite 
so  after  a  brief  exposure  to  the  air.  Also  it  has  a 
very  rank  oily  flavour  of  stale  fish,  making  it  quite 
uneatable  to  the  ordinary  person.  French  sailors, 
however,  with  the  culinary  aptitude  of  their  nation, 
hang  it  until  it  is  nearly  putrid,  and  then  make  stews 
of  it,  which  they  profess  to  find  excellent. 

The  Albatross  seldom  obtains  a  meal  of  fresh  fish, 
his  movements  in  or  near  the  water  not  being  smart 
enough  to  secure  them.  Consequently  he  is  confined 
to  feeding  upon  offal.  And  such  offal !  The  carcase 
of  a  whale  a  few  days  after  death  as  it  floats  upon 
the  sea  is  extraordinarily  offensive,  but  whenever 
one  is  found  it  is  always  the  centre  of  a  clamorous 
multitude  of  sea-birds,  and  when  this  happens  to  be 


Unsatisfiable 


335 


in  flie  Innnts  of  the  Albatross,  these  birds  are  always 
;n  the  majority,  for  they  angrily  drive  away  ail  others. 
It  seems  rather  a  pity  that  so  splendid  a  creature 
-liniild  be  such  a  foul  and  greedy  feeder,  but  so  it  is. 
It  never  seems  to  have  had  enough,  even  though  it 
^Ii^uild  have  so  loaded  its  stomach  that  it  cannot  rise 
f'  m  the  water.  It  sits  there  almost  helplessly, 
:  A  and  then  giving  utterance  to  a  harsh  scream, 
a>  if  of  rage  at  its  inability  to  eat  any  more.  And 
very  often  it  may  be  seen  to  disgorge  a  quantity  of 
what  it  has  swallowed,  and  immediately  rush  upon 
the  carcase  again  as  if  eager  to  renew  its  rapacious 
devnurings,  at  the  same  time  dealing  savage  blows 
ri-lit  and  left  at  its  neighbours.  It  seems  to  think 
t!;  it  none  have  any  right  to  be  at  the  great  banquet 
but  itself. 

Dr.  Hartwig  says  that  the  Albatross  alights  in 
considerable  numbers  upon  the  body  of  a  dead  whale 
and  there  tears  its  food  from  the  giant  carrion.  But 
t!;is  is  wrong.  In  the  southern  hemisphere,  where 
alone  the  Albatross  is  found,  the  only  bird  that  can 
and  does  alight  upon  the  body  of  a  whale  is  the  evil- 
smelling  fulmar,  or  giant  petrel,  an  ugly  bird  as  big 
as  an  ordinary  duck  and  armed  with  a  dirty  greenish 
btak,  with  which  it  tears  and  rends  the  blubber,  to 
the  envious  disgust  of  the  other  birds  who  cannot 
perform  the  same  feat. 

I  would  not  like  to  assert  that  the  Albatross  has 
a  superior  development  of  the  senses  to  other  sea- 
birds,  but  I  believe  that  he  has.  At  any  rate,  in 
common  with  all  soaring  carrion-eaters,  he  possesses 
the  power  of  discerning,  either  by  sif^ht  or  scent,  or 
some  other  sense  unknown  to  us,  food  at  immense 
di^tanrcb.  Again  and  again  I  have  noted  when  whaling 
in  the  Southern  seas  that  during  the  chase  there  has 


33^ 


The  Albatross 


boon  scarcely  a  bird  visible  anywhere;  even  from  the 
crow's-nost.  But  by  the  time  the  whale  was  dead 
the  number  of  Albatrosses  around  tlie  ship  was  count- 
less. They  drifted  towards  us  out  of  tlie  vast  void 
and  settled  upon  the  water  until  oftentimes  we  seemed 
to  be  the  centre  of  a  great  snow-field.  And  theru 
those  foathorod  hosts  awaited  patiently,  silently,  the 
preparation  of  their  banquet.  Yet  in  this  prompti- 
tude of  arrival  they  were  far  behind  the  sharks,  who 
appeared  upon  the  scene  from  the  solitude  of  ocean 
directly  tlic  ilow  of  blood  had  tainted  the  water, 
and,  as  soon  as  the  whale  was  dead,  began  to  tear  at 
the  limp  body  of  the  huge  mammal. 

But  when  once  we  began  to  cut  at  the  carcase  the 
eagerness  of  the  birds  could  no  longer  be  restrainod. 
With  hoarse  shrieks  they  crowded  over  one  another, 
even  under  the  blows  of  the  sharp  spades,  and  I  have 
several  times  seen  a  man,  who  with  a  bowline  round 
him  has  been  lowered  down  upon  the  whale  in  order 
to  insert  a  blubber  hook  into  its  throat,  overwhelmed 
by  a  rush  of  Albatrosses  borne  by  an  incoming  sea 
right  upon  him,  and  he  has  had  to  grab  armfuls  of 
the  ravenous  birds  and  hurl  them  away  from  him 
before  he  could  accomplish  his  task.  But  unless  by 
an  accident,  such  as  the  piercing  of  the  case  and  the 
consequent  leakage  of  the  spermaceti,  which  floated 
astern  like  cakes  of  wax,  the  hungry  hordes  never 
got  more  than  an  occasional  scrap  or  so  until  we  had 
done  with  the  body. 

The  Albatross  is  never  seen  alive  north  of  the 
Equator.  Up  to  a  certain  latitude  he  can  venture. 
but  he  is  essentially  a  cold-water  bird,  and  no  sooner 
does  he  find  the  temperature  rise  above  a  moderate 
degree  of  warmth  than  he  retires  south  again  into 
his    well-beloved    regions    of   cold    and    storm.    The 


The  Faithful  Albatross 


337 


!irat  of  the  tropics  would  be  at  once  fatal  to  him. 
M.iny  attempts  have  been  made  to  bring  one  of  these 
wonderful  birds  home  alive,  but  all  have  been  failures  ; 
bcrause  for  one  thing  it  is  impossible  to  induce  the 
Albatross  to  take  food  on  board  ship,  nor  if  he  did 
eat  could  he  retain  what  he  had  swallowed.  The 
first  tiling  done  by  the  captured  Albatross  when  landed 
I  in  deck  is  to  eject  the  total  contents  of  his  stomach, 
as  if  the  motion  of  the  vessel,  even  on  the  calmest 
(lav,  was  sufficient  to  make  him  violently  sea-sick. 
Other  sea-birds  are  liable  to  the  same  disability,  but 
none  in  so  marked  a  degree  as  the  Albatross. 

As  a  spouse  he  occupies  a  high  place,  except  that 
he  only  pairs  for  the  season,  and  the  constant  com- 
panionship of  the  male  and  female  is  pretty  to  see. 
He  seems  to  realise  his  position  of  protector  and 
provider  in  the  highest  degree,  and  not  until  the 
incubating  period  is  over  does  this  loving  union  cease. 
The  female  lays  but  one  egg,  about  as  large  as  that 
of  a  goose,  apparently  in  the  first  suitable  spot  she 
finds  upon  the  island  where  she  was  bom.  But  she 
does  not  bother  with  nest-building  any  more  than 
do  the  majority  of  sea-birds,  a  little  hollow  in  the 
sand  or  a  ledge  of  rock  suffices,  and  there  she  sits 
upon  her  single  egg,  fed  and  kept  company  with  by 
her  ardent  spouse,  until  the  day  when  from  that  egg 
there  appears  a  funny  little  ball  of  snowy  down  with 
two  intensely  black  beady  eyes  and  a  gaping  beak 
that  seems  to  split  its  head  in  two  halves. 

The  father  now  departs,  disgusted  apparently  at 
the  sight  of  this  rival  in  the  affections  of  his  wife. 
She  then  devotes  all  her  energies  to  feeding  the  baby, 
no  easy  task,  one  would  think,  where  there  are  often- 
times several  thousands  of  her  own  kind,  to  say  nothing 
of  myriads  of  other  sea-birds,  close  at  hand.     But 

2a 


338 


The  Albatross 


♦*■•    .  #*^ 


she  succoods  ?o  well  that  after  six  weeks  or  so  the 
youngster  is  bulkier  than  herself,  looks,  in  faet,  like 
a  hiTLCe  and  almost  shapeless,  except  for  the  head, 
bundle  of  dc^vn,  which  retains  its  pristine  snowy  white- 
ness so  as  to  be  almost  da/zling. 

All  this  time  it  is  almost  helpless  from  its  fatness 
and  the  weakness  of  its  h  gs.  But  presently  wings 
beirin  to  spiout  and  feathers  to  appear.  Soon  it  is 
re  idy  for  its  first  le>sons  in  ilight,  and  tremblingly, 
w:th  tottering  steps,  it  toddles  after  its  mother  to 
the  sea.  No  sooner  is  it  launched  upon  this  element, 
than  it  seems  to  lose  its  ungainliness  of  outline,  and 
to  develo[)  with  amazing  rapidity  those  characteristics 
which  will  presently  raise  it  so  far  above  the  other 
drni/ens  of  the  free  heavens.  At  last  it  ha?  learned 
to  '^oar  into  its  projxT  element,  the  sky  ;  fully  fledged 
and  >tionL;-winged,  it  takes  its  place  among  its  fellows, 
and  its  niuther,  her  work  done,  spreads  her  mighty 
wings  and  departs,  to  meet  it  kntjwingly  no  more. 

Hitherto  I  have  sjjoken  entirely  of  the  Albatross, 
the  head  of  the  family,  but  now  we  come  to  the  other 
two  s]jecies  with  which  I  am  acquainted.  I  do  not 
know  the  scientific  names  for  them,  have  never  been 
able  to  ascertain  them,  but  to  sailors  frequenting 
the  Southern  Seas  they  are  both  very  well  known 
by  the  names  of  Mollymauks  or  Mallemucks,  and 
Cape  Hens.  The  first  is  an  exceedingly  beautiful 
bird  differing  scarcely'  at  all  from  the  albatross,  except 
in  point  of  size  and  a  little  more  variety  of  marking. 
It  is  also  much  more  active,  flapping  its  wings  far 
more  frequently  than  does  the  albatross,  and  rising 
from  the  water  with  much  less  effort  and  consequently 
greater  rapidity. 

I  have  been  told  that  it  is  sometimes  found  in  the 
Far  North,  but  I  have  never  seen  it  there,  so  that 


The   Lively  Mollymauk       339 


I  raiuiiit  say  wlictlur  tlic  statimci^t  is  a  fact  or  not. 
I'risunally,  I  slumld  hv  inclint-d  to  s.iy  tliat  it  is  not 
fniind  any  fartluT  north  tlian  its  great  relative.  It 
i>  exceedingly  plentiful  in  the  '  roaring  forties,'  being 
dr  more  often  seen  by  ordinary  merchantm<'n  than 
I'll-  albatross.  It  is  a  constant  attendant  upon  ship? 
tiir   the    sake    of    the    scraps   tiirown    overboard,    but 

\copt  in  a  gale  it  d  )es  not  keep  anything  like  so  stately 
a  poise  about  tlum.  It  is  coniinuall\'  on  the  go, 
wheeling  about  the  ship,  darting  away  and  returning, 
and  oftentimes  it  may  be  seen  snatching  a  morsel  from 
hfiuMth  the  very  feet  of  a  descending  albatross,  which 
dtnps   into  the  water  with   an  angry  protesting  cry 

:i(l  watches  grimly  the  qi:  ck  fluttering  away  of  the 
inti-rloper.  It  rarely  exceeds  six  feet  in  the  breadth 
(if  its  wings,  and  they  do  not  stand  out  quite  so 
-tr.ughtly  from  the  body  as  do  those  of  the  albatross. 
It  is  so  rapid  in  its  movements  that  it  is  often  caught 
while  the  vessel  is  going  as  much  as  four  knots  an 
hour  through  the  water,  when  it  requires  almost  a  dead 
calm  to  catch  an  albatross,  the  latter  being  so  very 
ilcliberate  in  his  movements. 

The  plan  usually  adopted,  but  entirely  repre- 
liiiisible,  is  to  take  a  sail-hook,  which  has  a  long 
Arm,  a  straight  jaw  and  no  barb,  and  fasten  it  to 
a  long  fishing-line.  A  strip  of  fat  pork,  raw,  with 
tlie  rind  on,  is  then  fastened  to  the  hook  in  such  a 
manner  than  the  bow  of  the  hook,  though  concealed, 
N  <iuite  free  from  being  hampered  by  the  tough  fat. 
Tise  bait  is  tied  up  the  shank  of  the  hook,  so  that 
V.  hen  the  line  is  towing  the  hook  shall  be  first  seized 
!iv  a  would-be  devourer  of  the  pork.  The  moment 
'-'.:v.  bird  is  seen  hovering  overhead,  the  bait  is  flung 
I  ut  and  the  line  let  lun  as  rapidly  as  possible.  Thus 
until  the  whole  of  the  line  is  run  out,  the  bait  is  nearly 


340 


The  Albatross 


stationary  in  tlio  watrr,  rxccpt  that  it  is  sinking. 
As  soon  a<  tlir  bird  sees  the  bait  fall  he  drops  into 
the  sea  and  di\ts  for  it  ;  the  mf)mrnt  lie  seizes  it  the 
fisherman  hauls  in,  and  in  nine  ca  i  -iit  nf  t.  n  the 
sail-hook  ratilics  in  the  hook  of  the  beak,  llie  bird 
spreads  its  wings  wide,  thrusts  its  icrt  forward  against 
the  water  and  sliakes  its  head  \igorou>ly,  but  to  no 
purpose  ;  tlie  steady  strain  is  kept  up,  and  presently 
the  beautiful  creature  is  landed  on  deck,  all  it.^  grace- 
fulness gone.  It  is  a  helpless  arrival  in  a  strange 
sphere  surrounded  by  ruthless  enemies.  Then  it 
is  slain,  but  so  that  the  snowy  whiteness  of  the  skin 
may  be  kept  unsoiled.  the  poor  bird  is  usuallv  strangled 
or  beaten  on  the  head  with  a  belaying-pin,  both  of 
which  barbarous  methods  of  treatment  have  to  be 
persevered  in  for  some  time  in  order  that  the  fell 
purpose  may  be  effected,  as  the  bird  is  very  tenacious 
of  life. 

The  Cape  Hen  is  a  busy  brown  albatross  with 
a  dirty  white  beak,  exceedingly  plentiful  in  the  same 
habitat  as  the  albatross  and  mollymauk.  It  has 
no  relieving  tint  at  all,  its  sober  plumage  seeming 
quite  out  of  place  among  the  snowy  gatherings  of 
its  far  more  beautiful  comrades.  In  fact.  I  should 
say  that  among  the  many  aerial  tribes  of  ocean  it  is 
the  most  dingily  clad.  The  sailor  of  old  used  to  know 
it  very  well,  for  it  came  much  more  readily  to  his 
hook  than  the  other  birds,  and  the  long  hollow  bones 
of  its  wings  made  him  excellent  pipe-stems.  So  of 
course  did  those  of  the  albatross  and  mollymauk, 
but  they  were  much  less  easily  obtained  than  those 
of  the  Cape  Hen. 

Another  fad  of  the  sailor  was  to  fashijn  a  tobacco 
pouch  out  of  the  feet  of  these  birds,  a  task  demanding 
much  patience,   and   the  resultant   bag  being  by  no 


His  Story 


341 


ns  srr\-icoab1f?.  In  fart,  it  was  on  a  par  witl. 
u.e  shark's  barkbonc  walking-stick  over  which  so 
many  weary  hoirs  used  to  be  spent,  tlic  product 
being  neither  u^^eful  nor  beautifuL  The  menibrau.  lus 
covering  of  a  sea-bird's  feet  is  douMe,  and  if  the  foot 
is  cut  off  at  the  knee-joint  by  careful  manipulation 
the  bones  may  be  withdrawn,  all  but  the  nails  at  the 
.xtremities,  which  are  left  for  ornament.  Then  the  ad- 
hering webs  may  be  gently  separated,  and  so  the  foot 
becomes  a  bag,  the  sides  having  a  natural  join  which 
(loos  not  require  a  seam.  But  it  does  seem  a  trivial 
purpose  for  wliich  to  slay  a  beautiful  inhabitant  of 
the  sea.  Moreover,  I  can  say  with  certainty  that  I 
have  never  seen  one  used  for  carrying  tobacco. 

And  now,  as  I  have  done  before  in  the  case  of 
Deep-sea  Folks,  let  me  endeavour  to  sketch  for  you 
tlie  career  of  the  young  Albatross.  He  whom  we 
saw  but  lately  hatched  out  upon  an  outlying  spur 
of  the  '  Crozets  that  tusk  the  Southern  Pole.'  Let 
him  tell  his  own  story  : 

How  well  I  remember  following  clumsily  my 
mother  down  to  the  sea.  Until  then  I  had  never 
-tirred  from  the  little  hollow  of  sand  which  was  all 
my  world.  I  was  not  even  conscious  that  of  my  own 
kind  there  was  an  enormous  company  near  me.  All 
my  sensations  centred  in  one,  hunger  and  its  satisfying. 
I  felt  myself  growing,  of  course,  and  every  now  and 
then  would  stretch  out  stumpy,  down-covered  wings, 
but  hunger  was  my  only  real  feeling.  My  mother 
fid  me  continually,  as  it  seemed  to  me  she  had  hardly 
Iijft  me  before  she  was  returning,  but  even  so  I  was 
angrily  squawking  for  her  before  she  reached  me. 
And  no  sooner  had  the  food  slipped  down  my  wide 
Kullet  than  I  was  ready  for  more.  It  was  my  sole 
object  in  life. 


342 


The  Albatross 


But  when  the  moment  came  that  she  called  me 
to  come,  and  the  great  outside  world  broke  upon 
my  astonislied  gaze,  I  instinctively  obeyed  her,  feeling 
in  every  muscle  of  my  body  a  summons  to  action. 
It  was  a  luggcd  way  we  traversed,  bestrewn  with 
youngsters  like  myself,  many  of  whom  were  bound 
on  the  same  errand,  but  it  all  seemed  in  some  curious 
way  familiar.  When,  however,  we  reached  the  sea's 
margin  and  my  mother  fondly  led  me  in,  the  water 
greeted  me  with  a  roar  and  a  dash  of  white  foam  that 
flung  me  gasping  and  kicking  back  upon  the  sand. 
Yut  I  felt  quite  unable  to  quit  the  attempt  and  wait 
for  a  more  propitious  occasion.  Again  and  again 
I  made  a  trial,  encouraged  by  the  easy  way  in  which 
my  mother  rode  over  those  insolent  breakers  in  absolute 
supremacy. 

And  of  course  at  last  I  succeeded.  A  smaller 
breaker  than  usual  let  me  pass,  and  I  found  myself 
in  the  midst  of  a  wide  blue  Iieaving  plain,  my  mother 
by  my  side,  drinking  the  salt  water  with  great  relish. 
And  then  to  my  horror  she  spread  her  great  wings 
and  ran  along  the  water  away  from  me.  Suddenly 
she  bounded  into  the  blue  above  and  circled  over  me 
with  infinite  grace,  gently  wooing  me  to  join  her  with 
softest  sounds  of  love.  But  I  dared  not.  The  imi- 
tative instinct  within  me  was  very  strong,  but  I  could 
not  for  some  time  obey  it.  When  at  last  I  did  try 
to  run  along  the  water  after  m.y  mother,  I  only  collapsed 
in  a  draggled  heap.  But  that  experience,  instead 
of  daunting  me,  seemed  to  string  up  my  nerves,  and 
I  tried  again  almost  immediately.  Indeed,  I  could 
not  help  doing  so,  for  there  was  within  me  a  power 
pushing  me  forward  irresistibly.  At  last  with  one 
great  effort  I  soared  into  the  air.  Ah  !  the  delight 
of  it,  the  unspeakable  joy  of  finding  oneself  master 


UK  WATKR  CHEKTKl)  MK  WITH   A   KOAK  AM)  A    DASH 
THAT  FLrXC  ME  CASPIXC.   HACK   ll'OX    THI-:   SAXD. 


Elementary  Education         343 

of  his  own  element  !  I  circled  round  and  round  slowly, 
my  breast  swelling  with  the  pride  of  life,  and  my  mother 
hovering  by  my  side  gave  utterance  to  low,  gentle 
sounds  of  joy.  Together  we  returned  to  my  birth- 
place, my  first  lesson  well  and  fully  learned.  I  settled 
down  upon  the  familiar  spot,  and  my  mother  went 
back  to  the  sea  to  forage  for  us  both. 

I  went  away  no  more  that  day,  but  on  the  next 
morning  awoke  and  stretched  my  new  wings  crying 
clamorously  for  food.  But  my  mother  was  already 
on  her  painful  way  down  to  the  sea,  and,  except  for 
a  reproachful  look  in  my  direction  occasionally,  paid 
no  heed  to  me.  So  I  followed  her  quickly.  I  wanted 
food,  and  I  felt  that  I  might  get  some  soonei  if  I  made 
an  effort  myself.  We  laimched  ourselves  together, 
this  time  without  any  difficulty  on  my  part,  for  I 
had  learned  how  to  bear  myself  in  relation  to  the  water. 
No  longer  were  the  smoothly  rolling  waves  as  they 
swelled  in  upon  the  beach  able  *:o  fling  me,  a  much- 
bedraggled  bunch  of  patchy  fluff  with  ungamly  wings 
and  gaping  beak,  back  upon  the  sand. 

And  moreover  that  morning  we  had  only  flown 
a  short  distance  when  the  beautiful  form  of  my  mother 
finding  along  before  me  suddenly  stopped,  her  feet 
shot  ovc  before  her,  and  down  she  came,  I  following 
her.  The  water  was  alive  with  squid,  and  all  that 
we  needed  to  do  was  just  to  scoop  them  in  as  fast 
as  we  would.  The  other  birds  of  all  kinds  saw  us 
drop,  and  before  we  had  been  eating  a  minute  the  air 
was  dark  overhead  with  them  hurrying  to  the  feast. 
My  mother  dealt  fierce  blows  at  any  intruder  that 
came  within  reach,  and  I  followed  her  example  in- 
stinctively, not  that  there  was  any  need  to  drive 
others  away,  for  the  supply  was  vast  enough  for  an 
enormous  host  of  our  fellows,  but  because  it  is  natural 


344 


The  Albatross 


»>i 


for  us  to  suppose  tliat  there  will  not  be  sufficient 
for  us. 

Presently  I  found  that  by  no  possibility  could 
I  squeeze  in  one  more  delicious  morsel,  and  after 
ungratefully  meditating  awhile  upon  the  curious 
discovery  that  while  I  still  desired  to  eat,  I  had  no 
storage  room,  I  essayed  to  rise  and  fly  homeward. 
But  that  too  I  found  out  of  the  question.  And  my 
mother  was  in  a  hke  condition.  Do  not  think  us 
greedy— if  we  do  eat  voraciously,  and  grumble  that 
we  can  hold  no  more  when  food  is  so  abundant,  it 
is  because  we  know  so  well  how  often  we  must  go 
for  days  and  days  without  anything  at  all  to  sustain 
us  but  a  sup  or  so  of  the  bitter  brine  beneath  us.  I 
did  not  know  this  experimentally,  of  course,  but  the 
sense  of  its  possibility  was  there,  inherited  from  my 
parents. 

As  we  sat  gently  rocking  upon  the  smooth  swell, 
surrounded  by  struggling,  shrieking  birds  of  all  sea- 
kinds  common  to  those  isles,  there  was  a  sudden  rushing 
away  of  the  nearest  of  our  neighbours,  a  great  shadow 
came  between  us  and  the  sun,  and  a  mighty  Albatross 
of  purest  white  descended  gracefully  by  my  side. 
He  made  a  careless  lunge  at  me  with  his  enormous 
beak,  which  I  only  just  evaded  by  a  desperate  effort, 
for  I  could  hardly  move,  and  then  leisurely  folding 
one  vast  wing  after  the  other  went  on  feeding,  dis- 
daining any  notice  of  his  fellows.  None  of  them  came 
near,  they  seemed  to  have  far  too  great  a  regard  for 
their  safety  to  venture  within  his  reach,  so  that  he 
had  quite  a  large  area  of  sea  to  himself. 

I  was  terribly  alarmed,  but  helpless  to  get  away 
as  the  others  had  done,  being  so  much  overloaded 
with  food.  But  he  took  no  further  notice  of  me, 
although  I  was  so  close,  and  I  kept  as  still  as  possible 


Parental  Amenities 


345 


lest  he  should.  Presently  he  too  had  eaten  his  fill, 
and  I  noted  with  terror  that  he  was  swimming  steadily 
towards  my  mother,  who  swam  away,  it  is  true,  but 
not  with  any  vigour,  although  I  could  see  her  glancing 
apprehensively  over  her  shoulder  at  him.  Presently 
lie  was  by  her  side,  and  laying  his  great  beak  across 
her  neck  he  caressed  her  gently,  at  the  ?  ime  time 
uttering  a  pleasant  little  musical  sound  enr  ely  unlike 
the  usual  strident  shriek  of  our  people.  What  it 
meant  I  did  not  know.  Curiosity  overcame  my  fears, 
and  I  swam  heavily  towards  the  pair  to  see,  if  I  could, 
what  this  behaviour  meant,  when  to  my  horror  the 
new-comer  suddenly  turned  and,  rushing  at  me,  struck 
me  so  heavy  a  blow  with  his  hooked  beak  that  the 
flesh  was  torn  off  a  portion  of  my  back  and  my  snowy 
plumage  became  red.  I  tried  to  escape,  but  still  could 
hardly  move,  until  suddenly  the  impulse  came  upon 
me  to  disgorge  a  portion  of  what  I  had  eaten.  As 
I  did  so,  I  felt  easier  and  was  able  to  rise.  With  all 
the  strength  at  my  command  I  fled  away,  nor  even 
looked  behind  until  I  regained  the  old  spot  where  I 
had  been  hatched.  There  I  waited,  full  of  miserable 
apprehensions  lest  that  terrible  bird  should  come 
and  destroy  me.  Had  I  only  known  it,  or  my  fears 
have  allowed  me  to  look  back  during  my  headlong 
flight,  he  was  not  pursuing  me— I  was  altogether 
beneath  his  notice,  except  when  I  came  too  near 
him. 

The  day  passed  slowly  away,  but  my  mother 
did  not  return.  I  became  hungry,  but  I  was  afraid 
to  move.  Flocks  of  my  neighbours  returned  from 
their  labours  and  settled  down  on  their  respective 
spots,  inquisitive  httle  birds  and  cunning  crabs  ran 
all  about  me,  but  I  was  entirely  alone.  In  vain  I 
strained  my  eyes  longingly  seaward,  until  the  sudden 


34^ 


The  Albatross 


=> 


e!  .-^ 


(]\\<k  frl1,  the  star?  pocpod  out,  and  only  a  few  white 
gleams  ir  the  gloom  around  me  showed  where  restless 
birds  w(  '  still  unable  to  settle  down.  Presently, 
in  obedience  to  a  compelling  need,  I  tucked  my  head 
into  the  cosy  underside  of  my  wing  and  forgot  my 
new  trouble  and  loneliness  in  a  sound  sleep. 

Morniiig  broke  in  storm,  and  with  heavy  driving 
snow  blotting  out  all  sight  of  the  surrounding  land 
and  sea.  I  huddled  closer  down  upon  the  sand, 
shivering  in  spite  of  my  warm  garrreiit,  and  missed 
my  mother.  I  was  very  hungry,  and  that  fierce 
sensation  was  driving  me  forth  to  seek  food.  But 
when  even  the  old  birds  were  loth  to  leave  their  nests 
what  could  a  fledgeling  hope  to  do  ?  Oh,  how  I  longed 
for  the  strong  tender  guide  and  careful  provider  that 
I  had  lost  !  Never  again  was  I  to  know  her,  and 
presently,  hardly  knowing  what  I  did,  I  gathered  all 
my  forces  and  rushed  down  to  the  sea.  A  huge  breaker 
caught  me,  hurled  me  high  on  its  crest  in  a  smother 
of  blinding  spray,  from  which  I  took  off  into  the  snow- 
laden  air,  stretching  my  wings  with  a  sense  of  power 
that  was  exhilarating  and  uttering  a  long  shrill  cry 
born  of  hunger,  anger,  and  defiance. 

So  I  soared  aloft  and  at  right  angles  to  the  wind, 
using  it  in  that  mysterious  unexplainable  way  that 
we  have  to  speed  me  forward,  but  whither  I  did  not 
know,  could  not  recognise  the  sense  of  direction  I 
possessed,  yet  I  knew  I  was  going  right.  And  presently 
a  delicious  scent,  the  strong  odour  of  a  decaying  whale, 
greeted  me,  and,,  with  a  prompt  lowering  of  my  pinions 
and  extension  of  my  feet,  I  went  down,  down  into 
the  midst  of  a  great  company  of  my  kind  engaged 
in  a  mighty  banquet.  It  was  a  stupendous  scene, 
for  it  seemed  as  if  it  were  a  gathering  of  all  the  tribes 
of   air  and   sea.     The    storm    thundered,    the   birds 


I  Take  my  Place 


347 


prreamed,  the  waves  of  the  sea  were  all  torn  and  boiling 
with  the  myriads  of  hungry  fish  who  were  seeking 
their  share  of  the  feast,  and  in  the  midst  of  it  all 
lay  solemnly  still,  majestic  in  death,  the  body  of 
the  feast.  Heedless  of  passing  blows,  only  lunging 
l)ack  at  the  givers,  I  fought  my  way  into  the  middle 
of  the  tumult  and  found  food,  fat;  delicious,  satisfying 
f(jod.  I  ate  and  fought  and  shrieked  with  the  rest, 
all  the  time  feeling  sensible  that  I  was  now  a  free 
1  itizen  of  the  ocean,  henceforward  able  to  hold  my 
iiwn  among  my  kind. 

My  hunger  satisfied,  I  drifted  away  from  the  tre- 
mendous clamouring  crowd,  and  quietly  rocking  upon 
the  mighty  billows  which  swept  up  from  the  South 
Pole  like  walls  of  water,  I  slept  as  peacefully  as  I 
!iad  ever  done  beneath  my  mother's  sheltering  wing. 
I  was  not  in  the  least  disturbed  by  the  incessant 
coming  and  going  of  multitudes  of  birds,  any  more 
than  I  was  by  the  uproar  of  the  storm  or  the  hissing 
of  the  spindrift  about  me  ;  I  was  in  my  own  rightful 
realm,  and  fully  conscious  that  it  was  so.  No  necessity 
was  laid  upon  me  to  rise  from  my  rolling  couch,  so 
tlidt  the  mass  of  food  I  had  eaten  was  fully  digested, 
;md  when  I  at  last  became  conscious  that  it  was  time 
to  seek  more  food  I  felt  splendidly  grown  and  fit  for 
action.  I  rose  on  the  wing  and  returned  to  where, 
very  greatly  reduced  but  still  enormous,  the  body  of 
the  whale  floated  surrounded  by  vociferous  birds  as 
thickly  as  ever.  The  sight  invigorated  me,  and  with 
a  long  scream  of  triumph  and  aefiance  I  again  took 
my  place  at  the  great  meal. 

Another  feast,  another  rest,  and  I  began  my  long 
roaming.  I  followed  one  ship  for  many  days,  easily 
keeping  up  with  her  at  her  utmost  speed,  in  fact  my 
motion  was  so  easy  though  so  swift  that  I  was  barely 


348 


The  Albatross 


•2 


conscious  of  any  effort,  except  to  restrain  myself  from 
shooting  past  her.  I  got  to  know  the  appearance  of 
the  creatures  on  deck,  as  they  certainly  got  to  know 
nie,  for  often  I  would  poise  myself  (piitc  low  down  to 
windward  and  gaze  with  full,  unwinking  eyes  upon 
their  faces,  while  they  in  turn  stared  most  curiously 
at  me.  I  grew  quite  to  like  them,  especially  as  they 
fed  me  boimtifully,  although  I  grieve  to  say  that  I 
was  often  shamelessly  robbed  by  the  small  fry  that 
clustered  in  the  vessel's  wake  and  because  of  their 
insignificance  were  able  to  descend  and  arise  very 
much  quicker  than  I  could.  For  the  same  reason 
they  were  able  to  evade  my  righteously  angry  attempts 
to  deal  with  them  as  they  deserved. 

Then  a  horrible  thing  happened.  The  wind  died 
away  until  the  ship  lay  almost  motionless,  and  because 
there  was  no  use  in  flying  continually  around  her  now 
that  she  was  still,  and  as  I  was  loth  to  leave  her,  I  pat  in 
quiet  dignity  on  the  water  near  her.  Presently  I  saw 
a  beautiful  piece  of  fat  floating  near  me,  tugged  at  by 
some  Cape  pigeons  who  were  unable  to  rise  with  it  for 
some  strange  reason.  I  drove  them  away,  for  how 
dared  they  thus  encroach  upon  my  preserves  ?  and 
seized  it  myself.  No  sooner  had  I  done  so  than  I 
found  myself  being  dragged  through  the  water  forward 
by  my  head.  In  vain  I  spread  my  wings,  shook  my 
head  vigorously  from  side  to  side,  held  my  broad  feet 
out  in  front  of  me.  I  found  myself  lifted  in  air  and 
suddenly  dropped  upon  a  smooth  white  surface,  very 
hard  to  my  feet.  I  became  violently  sick  and  ill,  but 
I  was  surrounded  by  the  creatures  I  had  so  long  seen 
standing  on  the  ship,  and  they  only  jeered  at  me. 
Worse  than  that,  one  seized  my  beak,  while  another 
riveted  a  small  chain  around  my  neck,  and  daubed 
circles  round  my  eyes  with  some  red  sticky  stuff. 


Fulness  of  Life 


349 


Then,  having  thus  disfigured  me,  they  flung  me  over 
into  the  sea  again,  outraged,  dishevelled,  and  be- 
wildered. 

Never  again   have   I   been   fnoHsh  enough  to  cat 
anything  flung  from  a  ship  in  a  calm  without  closely 
examining  it  ;    indeed,  I  do  not  care  to  go  near  ships 
at  all.     But  alas  !   I  have  never  been  able  to  rid  myself 
of  that  galling  chain,  whirh  for  a  long  while  made  me 
an  outcast  among  my  k    .d.     Fortunately  we  do  not 
crave    company,    having   great    powers   of   self-enter- 
tainmeat.     Also  we  feel  our  royal  state,  and  do  not 
suffer   the   intimacy   of   those   beneath   us.      At   last, 
however,  I  found  me  a  beautiful  consort,  who  rather 
regarded  my  collar  as  an  added  adornm>-nt,  singling 
me  out  from  all  others  of  my  family  as  one  who  had 
seen    and   endured   strange   things   not   given   to   the 
general    to    become    acquainted    with.     Together    we 
roamed  the  round  world,  enjoying  life  to  the  full  and 
supremely  happy  in  e^ch  other.     Then  we  retired  to 
a  lonely  crag   in  the  South   Shetlands,   whereon   my 
consort  became  the  proud  possessor  of  a  beautiful  egg. 
.And  I  watched  over  her,  fed  her,  cheered  her  in  her 
weary  period  of  sitting,  wondering  much  in  a  dumb, 
wistful  way  wliy  she  would  not  again  come  roaming 
tlie  wide  sea  with  me.     But  she  did  not,  could  not, 
and  when  presently  a  fluffy  white  ball  with  gaping 
mouth  appeared,  she  forgot  me  altogether,  and  I  fled 
angrily  away. 


CHAPTER    XXIV 
CAPE    PIGEONS    AND    WHALE    BIRDS 


THE  Pintado  Pttrel,  as  the  Cape  Pij^'con  is  some- 
what pcd.uitically  called  by  the  naturalist,  is  a 
most  delif,'litful  and  cheery  little  bird,  although 
his  habitat  is  one  of  the  loneliest  known.  If  I  dared, 
I  would  say  that  the  Cape  Pigeon  is  the  marine 
counterpart  of  the  peewit  or  plover.  But  an  unscien- 
tific observer  does  get  dropped  upon  so  for  a  casual  re- 
mark like  that,  that  perhaps  I  1) ad  better  go  no  farther 
than  to  say  that  in  colour,  in  flight,  and  in  voice;  yes, 
and  in  size  also,  there  is  a  very  distini  t  and  striking 
similarity  between  the  pretty  black-and-white  citizen 
of  the  great  South  Sea  and  the  peewit  of  the  newly- 
ploughed  land  in  our  own  dear  home.  In  vivacity  of 
movement  the  difference  is  in  favour  of  the  sea-bird 
— an  overmastering  energy  seems  to  be  continually 
impelling  it  to  action,  and  I  should  be  quite  prepared 
to  find  that  it  does  not  sit  quietly  upon  its  eggs. 

But  perhaps  before  I  go  any  farther  I  must  try  to 
give  a  little  description  of  this,  to  southern-going 
seamen,  exceedingly  well-known  bird,  though  to 
naturalists  hardly  known  at  all.  In  size  it  is  between 
an  ordinary  tame  pigeon  and  a  wood-pigeon,  not  quite 
so  elegant  in  its  outlines,  and  with  a  somewhat  larger 
head  in  proportion  to  the  size  of  its  body.  Like  all 
the  petrels,  it  has  a  hooked  beak,  which  is  really  an 

350 


Its   Restless  Vivacity  351 

ihsnlute  necessity,  considering  the  rapidity  with  whirh 
It  must  seize  its  slimy  food.  Its  phimage  is  just  white 
.md  black,  white  as  regards  the  bulk  of  the  body,  breast, 
ni'ck,  etc.,  with  a  curiously  regular  and  conventional 
l)ittcrn  of  black  across  the  upper  part  of  the  wings 
and  bo  y.  Its  head  is  like  a  ball  of  black  velvet,  its 
f'  et  are  like  the  wings  of  a  little  bat.  so  silky  and 
nervously  energetic  are  they. 

Like  all  its  congeners,  and  for  the  same  reason, 
it  eats  whatever  it  can  get  that  is  eatable— that  is 
to  say,  eatable  in  its  very  wide  ideas  of  what  constitutes 
really  edible  food.     It  samples  everything,   rejecting 
only  that  which  is  obviously  impossible,  like  wood  or 
pumice-stone,   of  which  latter  produce  of  submarine 
nres   there   is   often   abundance   floating   in   Southern 
Seas.     But  its  chief  characteristic  is  its  cheery  vivacity, 
hi  lovableness  I  cannot  «?ive  it  the  place  of  honour, 
when  I  remember  the  little  darling  of  all  the  wide 
oceans,  the  Mother  Carey's  chicken,  but  it  is  a  close 
second.     And  I  am  filled  with  sorrow  when  I  remember 
Iiow  many  I  have  seen  caught  or  wantonly  shot  by 
passengers  for  amusement.     The  necessity  could  never 
arise,   except  in   case   of  shipwreck   and   consequent 
starvation,  for  these  deep-sea  birds  are  all  practically 
uneatable  except  when  overpowering  hunger  compels. 
Their  flesh  is  rank,  oily,  and  hard,  the  muscles  being 
indurated  by  their  amazingly  active  life. 

The  Whale  Birds,  so-called  from  an  utterly  un- 
founded superstition  among  the  whale-fishers  that 
their  appearance  in  large  flocks  heralds  the  approach 
or  the  immediate  vicinity  of  whales,  are  almost  mys- 
terious in  their  aloofness  from  man.  Whereas  the 
.il!)atros3,  the  mollymauk,  Cape  hen,  and  Mother 
Carey's  chicken,  with  especially  the  Cape  pigeon,  act 
towards  passing  ships  as  if  they  too  realised  intensely 


352   Cape  Pigeons  and  Whale  Birds 

the  grim  loneliness  of  the  vast  Southern  Sea,  the  Whale 
r.irds  arc  content  with  their  own  company,  but  that 
is  always  in  large  numbers.  Again,  a  great  distinction 
from  ail  other  Southern  Sea  birds,  who,  while  rarely 
abiding  in  entire  solitude  as  regards  their  own  kind, 
almost  always  confine  their  companionship  to  one  or 
two  chosen  chums  with  whom  to  scour  the  wide  free 
spaces  of  Antarctica,  Whale  Birds  are  never  secMi  but 
in  flocks  numbering  some  hundreds,  and  that  only 
when  there  is  much  food  about.  Yet  I  never  saw  them 
feeding  at  such  a  time.  I  have  often  seen  them 
hovering  about  above  the  crowds  of  vociferous  roy- 
sterers  assisting  at  the  demolishment  of  a  dead  whale  ; 
but  it  seemed  a  pure  absurdity  to  imagine  them  de- 
scending into  that  dread  arena  within  reach  of  lethal 
beaks  and  mighty  wings,  for  they  are  tiny  birds, 
scarcely  larger  than  the  stormy  petrel,  and  more 
elegantly  built. 

The  sandpiper  is,  I  think,  the  nearest  of  possibly 
familiar  birds  with  which  I  can  compare  them.  White 
and  dove  colour  is  their  plumage,  their  main  charac- 
teristic timidity,  and  their  voice  has  a  gently  cooing 
note  in  it,  as  if  deprecating  their  enterprise  in  thus 
apparently  coming  into  serious  competition  with  the 
far  more  strenuous  inhabitants  of  the  sea  spaces.  It 
is  principally  for  this  reason  that  I  have  called  them 
mysterious.  I  cannot  at  all  understand  how  they  are 
able  to  hold  thtir  own,  to  live  and  keep  plentiful  in 
those  stern  regions. 

In  the  particulars  which  follow  I  hope  it  will  be 
understood  that  I  am  describing  entirely  from  memory, 
my  mind  must  reach  back  a  quarter  of  a  century  for 
detail  unobtainable  elsewhere.  Imagine  a  thrush, 
almost  pure  white  except  across  the  wings  and  the 
top  of  the  head,  and  with  wings  half  as  long  again, 


Timid   Sea  Citizens 


353 


fiointinl  almost  like  t'mso  of  a  swift.  Tlic  hcak  is 
-traight  and  iic  irl\-  whitr.  the  eyes,  in  loniinon  with 
most  sca-binls,  full  and  dark.  Tiio  legs  are  long  in 
inoportion,  and  of  a  yellowish  hue,  feet  small  with 
'!  lirate  webs,  and  tail  slender  and  tapeiing.  In  sj)ite 
f  the  sliape  of  its  wings  it  does  not  fly  with  the  darling 
Acep  of  the  swallow,  nor  has  it  the  bold,  decided 
I'  lion  of  the  tiirush  when  on  the  wing.  In  company 
with  a  band  of  its  '-onipanions  it  (lies  slowly,  almost 
i  ivilv  for  so  sliglitly  built  a  bird,  thr  whole  flock 
;  Mg  and  falling  like  a  wav->  at  a  fairly  level  distance 
n!  MMiie  thirty  or  fortv  feet  above  the  sea.  Their 
laovements  are  as  unlike  those  of  the  ordiuary  sea- 
liiids  as  one  can  imagine,  they  appear  to  Lave  no 
lihjrctive,  and  to  be  so  timid  that  tliey  hardly  dare 
t'l  descend  and  feed.  Yet,  as  far  as  one  cai  tell,  there 
i>  no  ground  for  this  e.vcessive  fear.  They  do  not 
:ppt'ar  to  have  any  enemies,  as  indeed  may  be  said 
•  t  most  of  the  Southern  Sea  birds,  among  men  or  birds 
or  tish.  so  that  when  they  die  it  is  almost  always  by  the 
operation  of  some  peculiarly  natural  force. 

The  only  time  tliat  I  can  ever  remember  seeing 
these  tiny  sea-wanderers  feefling  was  once  wlien  landed 
ui)un  an  outlying  cay  of  the  Lovalty  Islands  for  w^ood 
.iiul  cocoa-palm  leaves  fc^r  making  brooms.  We  had 
tilled  very  hard  for  some  hours,  and  had  at  last  been 
i'raciou.sly  accorded  a  short  rest  for  a  smoke.  I  lay 
.N.parated  from  my  shipmates  under  the  shadow  of  a 
Kirat  rock  out  of  the  fierce  noon-day  sun,  dreamily 
piilfmg  at  my  pipe,  and  ga/ing  over  the  dazzling  stretch 
of  sand  before  me  at  the  bold  landward  rush  of  the 
ni;-hty  breakers.  Suddenly  there  appeared  a  small 
tiock  of  Whale  Birds  gliding  undulatory  towards  me 
from  seaward,  and  with  many  a  graceful  fiutter, 
Settling  and  rising  again,  they  finally  folded  all  their 

23 


354  Cape  Pigeons  and  Whale  Birds 

pretty  wings,  and  appeared  content  to  remain.  At 
the  first  I  took  them  for  terns,  but  remembered  their 
fliglit  and  also  their  voices,  which,  instead  of  being 
sharp  and  penetrating  Hke  the  cry  of  a  tern,  were  soft 
and  appealing  ;  to  one's  imagination  they  were  de- 
precating being  alive  at  all.  And  then  to  my  great 
interest  they  began  to  feed.  Mincingly,  delicately, 
they  pattered  about  the  sand  near  the  sea-margin, 
prying  with  the  fine  points  of  their  beaks  into  crannies, 
evidently  finding  much  food  of  some  sort,  and  that 
greatiy  to  their  taste. 

For  an  liour  I  lay  and  watched  them  until,  with  a 
hurried  scampering  together,  they  rose  in  a  little  cloud 
and  swept  away  out  to  sea.  It  was  a  shipmate  of 
mine  who,  strolling  leisurely  along  beachward,  had 
startled  them,  for  >vhich  I  felt  I  could  willingly  have 
flung  a  stone  at  him.  As  soon  as  he  saw  me  he  asked 
if  I  had  seen  the  birds,  calling  them  by  the  correct 
whaler's  name.  Whale  Birds,  and  when  I  grunted 
assent  he  inflicted  uoon  me  a  foolish  tedious  yam  of 
there  being  something  supernatural  about  Whale 
Birds.  That  they  never  ate  and  never  rested  because 
they  had  no  feet,  and  other  skittles  of  the  kind.  To 
which  I  replied  that  he  might,  had  he  used  his  eyes, 
have  seen  them  both  eating  and  walking  a  few  minutes 
ago,  and  so  have  been  able  to  enjoy  the  great  pleasure 
of  putting  anybody  right  upon  the  subject  who  came 
to  him  with  such  a  story.  But  he  did  not  seem  to  see 
any  advantage  in  that. 

There  can  be  no  question  about  the  right  of  the 
Whale  Bird  to  be  called  one  of  the  Deep  Sea  People 
proper,  that  is  to  say,  as  much  so  as  the  albatross  or 
stormy  petrel,  because  it  inhabits  precisely  the  same 
regions  as  they  do,  altnough  not  so  frequently  seen. 
But  there  is  a  certain  amount  of  mystery  attaching  to 


Apparently  out   of  Place      355 

the  little  wanderers,  from  their  never  being  seen  to 
f  rd  at  sea  or  ever  to  aliplit  on  the  water,  although 
liiiir  feet  are  delicatrly  webbed  as  if  for  swimming 
I'urposes.     Added  to  all  this  is  their  apparently  feeble, 
undecided  flight,  which  setms  so  unnatural  in  a  bird 
that  is  met  with  a  thousand  miles  from  land,  and  that 
d -es  not  avail  itself,  as  far  as  can  be  told,  of  the  rest 
afforded  by  the  sea-surface.     I  have  never  been  able 
tf)  imagme  what  becomes  of  them  in  a  gale.     In  theory 
they  should  be  hurled  along  like  dried  leaves  without 
P'.wer    of    direction,    whithersoever    the    storm-wind 
chooses  to  carry  them.     But  knowing  wliat  we  do  of 
the  truly  marvellous  way  in  which  all  sea-birds  can 
and  do  manipulate  their  pinions  in  the  tremendous 
pivsence  of  tlie  tempest,  it  is  utterly  unwise  to  suppose 
that  even  the  feeble  Whale  Birds  are  unable  to  main- 
tain   their    position    and  prosecute    their   mysterious 
husmess,  no  matter  how  fiercely  the  gale  may  rage 
about  them. 

As  to  their  place  of  resort  for  breeding  purposes, 
I  know  no  more  certainly  than  that  they  frequent 
at  breeding  time  the  same  islets  in  the  Southern  Seas 
as  do  the  larger  pelagic  birds.  Also  that  they  are  to  be 
t'Mind  m  warmer  climates  than  the  albatru.s  and  Cape 
pik'eon,  being  in  this  respect,  indeed,  more  like  the 
'lamty  little  Proccllaria,  which  is  equally  at  home  on 
the  Equator  or  amid  the  table-topped  icebergs  of  the 
1,'rLMt  lone  Southern  Sea.  I  sliould  say,  however,  that 
tiiry  would  breed  in  colonies,  as  they  are  so' very 
grrgarious,  and  that,  judging  from  the  little  I  have 
br.'u  able  to  see  of  their  habits,  they  are  as  addicted 
t'»  i)olygamy  as  is  the  domestic  fowl,  a  circumstance 
uhi.h  differentiates  them  at  once  from  all  the  other 
reillv  pelagic  sea-birds. 

IJtfore  we  return  to  the  Cape  Pigeon,  whom,  after 


.-Sr 


356  Cape  Pigeons  and  Whale  Birds 

a  very  brief  introduction,  I  left  for  a  while  in  order  to 

do  ample  justice  to  by-and-by,  let  us  take  a  passing 

glimpse   at   a   truly  wonderful    sea-bird  which  is  fre- 

qrently  seen  at  great  distances  from  land,  but  scarcely 

ever  in  company  with  another  bird       en  of  its  own 

kind.     I  allude  to  the  Tropic  Bird  {Phaeton  etherius) 

which  all  sailors  used  to  know  as  the  '  Bo'sun,'  for 

tlicy   said    '  he   carries   his   marlinespike   for   a   tail.' 

This  is  in  allusion  to  the  two  long,  slender  tail-feathers 

which  stream  out  behind  the  bird  as  he  flies,  if  the 

term  flight  can  properly  be  applied  to  the  stately  and 

dignified  way  in  which  tliis  beautiful  lonely  bird  floats 

along  in  mid-air.     In   size   it   resembles  a   partridge, 

but  in  colour  favours  most  sea-birds  by  being  soberly 

clad  in  black,  grey  and  white— white  as  to  the  breast, 

neck,  and  head,  and  grey  spotted  with  black  on  the 

back  pnd  upper  surfaces  of  the  wings.     These  latter 

are  large  for  the  size  of  the  bird,  but  somewhat  narrow. 

They  are  rarely  flapped  by  the  bird,  who,  in  common 

witli  the  albatross,  prefers  to  float  in  the  air,  and  uses 

that  element  to  propel  it  wherever  it  wishes  to  go  by 

dexterous   steering,    to   the    fussy   flutterings   of  less 

dignified  citizens  of  the  upper  atmosphere.     Its  legs 

are  very  short  and  its  feet  very  small,  which,  taken 

in  conjunction  with  the  length  of  its  curious  and  delicate 

tail,  has  led  to  the  assumption  that  it  spends  most  of 

its  time  on  the  wing.     Yet  it  is  supposed  by  naturalists 

that  these  birds  make  a  point  of  visiting  the  rocks  of 

lonely  islets  which  are  tlieir  homes  every  night,  and 

this  because  they  are  not  seen  to  feed  at  sea.     That  I 

cannot  believe,  from  the  immense  distances  which  1 

have  seen  them  from  land,  and  also  because  on  going 

aloft  to  loose  a  royal  on  a  fine  night  I  have  often  heard 

their  peculiar  low  cry,  and  seen  the  shadowy  creature 

Hit  past  like  an  uneasy  ghost. 


\    HOSCM    HAS  <)KTi:.\   KKPT  .M  K   I'LKASAXT  COMl-ANV. 


Aristocratic  Aloofness        357 

But  T  arlmit  that  I  have  never  seen  them  feed. 
In  the  crow's-nest  of  a  whaler,  when  lazily  turning  to 
; -ul  fro  on  the  Line  grounds,  I  have  often  been  kept 
pleasant  eompany  with  by  a  bos'un,  who  just  floated 
near,  suspended  in  the  clear  ether,  apparently  fully 
engaged  in  the  endeavour  to  decide  what  sort  of  strange 
bird  I  was.  All  the  two  hours'  spell  he  would  remain, 
hardly  moving  a  feather,  and  when,  after  my  four 
hours'  watch  below  had  been  spent  and  I  mounted 
to  my  lofty  perch  again,  there  he  was  still.  I  never 
saw  such  a  bird  descend  more  than  a  few  feet  ;  never 
saw  him  manifest  the  slightest  interest  in  anything 
except  the  mastheads  of  the  ship.  And  I  have  won- 
dered, until  my  curiosity  has  been  almost  unbearable, 
liow  the  pretty  solitary  lived — in  fact,  despite  com- 
mon-sense and  reasoning  power,  there  would  obtrude  a 
f :('ling  of  the  uncanny,  especially  after  gazing  stead- 
fastly into  the  deep  dark  eyes  of  the  bird  floating  so 
near  that  I  could  almost  touch  him  with  my  hand. 
I  do  not  recall  any  instance  where  two  of  them  thus 
accompanied  a  ship,  but  I  do  remember  that  whenever 
"ther  birds  came  about  the  bos'un  soon  took  his  leave, 
just  floated  a'vay  and  disappeared,  with  a  fine  aristo- 
<  ratic  air  of  disliking  any  society  but  that  which  he 
had  chosen  for  himself,  a  suggestion  of  being  perfectly 
content  with  his  entirely  lonely  life,  and  needing  no 
external  aids  to  comfort  or  happiness.  In  the  tropical 
seas,  however,  at  a  distance  from  land,  except  for  the 
tiny  petrel,  bird-life  is  comparatively  scarce,  and 
apparently  this  is  just  what  the  Tropic  Bird  desires  and 
enjoys,  with  an  occasional  calm  and  serene  criticism 
of  the  uncouth  mortals  who  penetrate  into  his  lonely 
realm. 

Except  in  calms  or  very  light  winds  the  Tropic  Bird 
ii  seldom  observable  from  the  masthead  of  an  ordinary 


358  Cape  Pigeons  and  Whale  Birds 


.3 


"I 


merchant  sailing  ship,  hardly  ever  from  a  steamer. 
The  first  may  be  accompanied  until  the  breeze  freshens, 
when  the  bird,  apparently  disliking  the  speed,  quietly 
melts  into  the  vast  emptiness  around  ;  the  second 
poisons  the  surrounding  atmosj^here  so  vilely  that  any 
bird,  to  say  nothing  of  the  dignified  bos'un,  would  find 
it  an  impossiliiliiy  to  retain  even  the  semblance  of 
fellowship  and  live.  Except  of  course  those  busy 
birds  that  fly  low,  and  I.eeping  thus  out  of  the  befouled 
strata  of  air  are  able  for  a  time  to  gatlier  a  little  of  the 
rich  harvest  of  eatable  scraps  being  whirled  astern  in 
the  foaming  eddy  of  the  propellers. 

I  am  exceedingly  loth  to  leave  the  Tropic  Bird,  as 
he  possesses  for  me  a  fascination  greater  tlian  that  of 
any  other  of  the  deep-sea  birds.  But  he  does  so 
persistently  and  successfully  maintain  his  aloofness, 
his  mysterious  independence  of  all  those  external  aids 
to  living  which  we  must  look  for  in  the  creatures  we 
study,  that  unless  I  were  to  invent  something  about 
him  I  must  come  to  an  end  of  my  talk  about  his  ways. 
The  question  of  how  he  breeds,  and  how— unless  he 
builds  a  nest  in  a  tree,  as  suggested  by  some  naturalists, 
but  which  is  to  me  a  thing  unthinkable  of  a  sea-bird- 
he  protects  that  long  beautiful  tail  of  his  from  defile- 
ment is  an  unsolvable  mystery  to  me. 

Undoubtedly  there  is  a  species  of  Tropic  Bird 
which  breeds,  petrel-like,  in  holes  of  the  rocks,  and  while 
ashore  is  gregarious,  but  it  is  not  the  species  of  which 
I  am  now  writing.  Perhaps  it  is  well  that  there  should 
remain  even  to-day  some  creatures  of  thi,  upper  air 
whom  the  lonely  sailor  can  meet  and  admire,  whose 
comings  and  goings  are  without  observation,  whose 
habits  can  only  be  guessed  at,  and  whose  lives,  as  far 
as  may  be  seen,  are  from  their  beginning  to  their  end 
bound  up  in  the  enjoyment  of  perfect  unmolested  peace. 


-^.MIIJ,.    ■■»a!»gT-.-...~4.'..    .il» 


My  First  Offence 


359 


And  now  to  return  witli  some  relief  to  my  d  ar, 
merry,  l)usy  little  fiicnd,  the  Cape  Pigeon,  or  Pintado 
Petrel,  although  I  cannot  feel  at  home  with  him  under 
anv  other  name  than  the  first.  Shrme  upon  mr,  I 
1  rst  made  his  intimate  acquaintance  when  outward 
bound  in  the  'Western  Belle'  to  B  mbay,  so  many 
years  ago  that  rec  illin.4  the  date  makes  me  feel  quite 
old.  I  had  only  known  him  to  look  at  for  a  few  days 
when  there  fell  a  -tark  calm,  in  which  ho  and  dozens 
of  his  kind  flitted  joyously  about  us,  exhibiting  e\ery 
t;raceful  poise  of  their  trim  little  bodies,  and  now  and 
then  showing  what  they  could  do  in  the  way  of  di\  ing. 
With  wide-eyed  wonder  I  watched  a  couple  who  had 
^wooped  upon  a  pork-bone  I  had  flung  overboard, 
pursue  it  down  through  the  limpid  blue,  their  wings 
widespread,  flashing  back  the  sapphire  light,  and  a 
whole  stream  of  turquoise  bubbles  ascending  as  they 
sped  downwards.  They  rose  unsuccessful,  the  prize 
they  thought  of  securing  was  too  hard,  too  heavy  for 
their  efforts,  but  with  hai  dly  a  pause  they  sprang  into 
the  air  again  and  recommenced  their  mazy  wliiil  about 
us  as  if  entirely  unconcerned  at  the  frustration  of 
their  keen  desires.  We  have  a  monopoly,  apparently, 
of  the  foolish  occupation  of  fretting  over  what  might 
have  been. 

It  was  then  that  an  evil  counsellor  whispered  to 
ine  that  I  might,  an  I  chose,  catc'^  one  of  those  dear 
desirable  birds  and  have  it  for  my  own.  Not  only 
so,  but  he  placed  the  means  to  do  this  ill-deed 
in  my  hand — a  ball  of  roping  twine,  a  little  hook 
attached  thereto,  and  a  piece  of  fat.  The  poop  was 
deserted  save  by  the  drowsy  helmsman,  the  second 
mate  (my  bitter  enemy)  having  taken  advantage 
of  the  skipper's  Sabbath  siesta  and  the  utter  absence 
of  wind  to  go  below  and  do  something  in  his  berth. 


360  Cape  Pigeons  and  Whale  Birds 

So  I  stole  up  on  the  poop,  and  leaiiiu'?  over  the  taffiail, 
cast  my  lure.  It  sank  slowly  but  not  out  of  sJL'lit 
of  one  of  the  busy  little  birds,  wliieh  was  presently 
in  my  trembling  hands.  I  took  it  down  on  the  main- 
deck  and  plavi  >1  with  it,  no  doubt  to  its  intense  miser)' 
and  the  bcw ilderment  of  our  two  big  dogs.  The  only 
excuse  I  can  make  for  this  cruel  behaviour  to  one  of 
the  free  and  essentially  harmless  people  of  the  air 
is  thoughtless  youth. 

But  the  bird  was  presently  avenged,  for  an  elderly 
American  seaman,  whom  I  only  remember  as  Nat, 
came  noiselessly  behind  me,  and  sei/ing  my  ear  m 
one  hand,  took  the  pretty  frightened  creature  from 
me  with  the  other,  saying  solemnly:  'Boy,  hasn't 
anybody  told  ye  that  the  meanest  and  lowest  thing 
ye  can  do  is  to  worry,  annoy,  and  kill  these  lovely 
feathered  things  ?  They  do  no  harm,  they're  not  good 
to  eat,  and  they  brighten  up  and  make  cheerful  the 
great  ocean  solitudes.'  As  he  spoke  he  cast  the  bird 
into  the  air,  and  giving  my  ear  such  a  tweak  that  I 
almost  thought  it  had  come  off,  st.dkcd  .solenmly 
away.  He  was  a  pre*ty  good  man,  was  old  Nat.  I 
ran  to  the  side  and  peeped  over  to  see  what  had  become 
of  my  late  prisoner,  and  there  within  a  biscuit's  throw 
of  the  ship  sat  my  late  captive  calmly  lestoring  his 
feathers  to  their  usual  unruffled  condition  after  their 
disarrangement  by  my  rough  handhng.  I  have  never 
molested  another  Cape  Pigeon,  although  I  have  often 
seen  it  done. 

During  a  tremendous  westerly  gale  the  great 
company  of  sea-birds  wl/'^h  hi.  d  so  long  followed  the 
lumbering,  heavy  progress  of  an  old  barque  that 
certainly  should  not  have  been  sailing  in  those  stern 
latitudes  at  all,  had  gradually  dwindled  away  until 
only   one   faithful   pair   of   Cape    Pigeons    remained. 


Comforting  Companions       361 

rsunlly,  nnd(T  stK-li  <  irrum>tan(o>,  tlic  last  ImkIs  seen 
about  a  ship,  nay,  those  tliat  ni'\cr  disert  her  while 
^lie  swims,  are  the  stormy  petrels,  but  now  these 
I'il^'eons  alone  were  loft.  As  one  by  one  the  last 
rent  fragments  of  canwis  (lew  from  her  yards  and 
disappeared  into  the  deepening  gloom  like  wisps 
of  cloud,  the  position  of  the  barque  became  more 
and  more  critical,  and  it  was  evident  that  unless 
almost  a  miracle  happened  the  enormous  waves  rolling 
up  so  relentlessly  from  the  westward  must  presently 
overwhelm  her,  since  she  could  not  possibly  under 
bare  poles  keep  ahead  of  the  sea. 

But  the  brave,  bright  spirit  of  the  skipper  never 
faltered,  and  with  great  skill  and  coolness  he  succeeded 
m  getting,  by  the  aid  of  his  good  men.  a  tarpaulin 
lashed  in  the  mizcn  rigging.  Then  carefully  watching 
for  the  smooth  after  a  ninth  wave  he  let  tlie  old  tub 
swing  up  into  the  wind,  which  caught  and  brought  her 
into  that  comparatively  easy  position  in  a  gale  which 
we  know  as  being  '  hove  to.'  And  as  she  lay  there, 
sometimes  almost  head  to  the  mighty  waves,  and 
rising  upon  their  crests  until  it  appeared  as  if  her 
stem  was  about  to  be  buried,  or  falling  off  into  the 
deep  trough  between  two  billows,  until  it  seemed 
as  if  she  must  be  rolled  bottom  up,  the  two  constant 
attendants  upon  her,  the  pair  of  Cape  Pigeons,  hovered 
about  her  as  if  they  were  guardian  a:igels  deputed  to 
preserve  her  from  the  destruction  which  seemed 
immuient. 

The  old  vessel  now  made  such  good  weather  of 
it,  considering,  that  the  skipper's  wife  brought  up 
•heir  little  boy,  who  was  very  anxious  to  see  what 
made  the  naughty  ship  tumble  about  so.  And  the 
first  thing  his  bright  eyes  lighted  upon  was  the  pair 
of  pretty  birds  hovering  easily  to  windward  over  the 


302  Cape  Pigeons  and  Whale  Birds 


g.* 


broad,  smooth  eddies  of  tlic  sliip's  sidclinK  drift, 
and  \vat(  iiiii^'  keenly  for  scraps  as  u^iial.  He  clapped 
his  hands  with  {.'li-e,  and  cried  shrilly  : 

'  Dada,  those  little  birds  don't  mind  the  storm 
a  bit,  do  they  ?  ' 

•  No,  dear,'  said  his  father  grav<-ly,  '  the  sea  is 
their  home,  don't  you  see  ?  ' 

The  child  meditated  for  a  few  moments,  and  then, 
his  face  bri},'htenint^  ai^ain,  he  cried  :  '  Well,  dada, 
it's  ours  too,  isn't  it  ?  '  Then,  without  waiting  for  his 
father's  reply,  he  said  slowly  :  '  If  (ieiitle  Jesus  can 
keep  those  pretty  little  birds  in  the  niiilst  of  all  this 
lot  of  water  and  big  wind,  of  course  He  can  keep  us. 
I  did  feel  'fraid  down  in  the  cabin,  but  I  don't  now. 
I  know  what  mumma  meant  by  the  story  about  Gentle 
Jesus  and  the  hve  sparrows  sold  for  two  fardens. 
Not  one  of  them  can  fall  m  the  sea  without  your 
Father.' 

The  man  at  the  wheel  passed  his  oil -skinned 
sleeve  across  his  eyes  to  wipe  away  the  salt  spray, 
the  skipjuT  turned  away  and  cleared  his  throat,  and 
the  mother,  tightening  her  hold  upon  her  boy,  felt 
a  tear  trickle  down  her  drawn  cheek  ;  but  all  three 
realised  the  value  of  the  message  brought  them  by 
the  child,  entirely  independent  of  their  knowledge 
of  the  inexorable  operation  of  natural  forces.  And 
it  is  safe  to  say  that  thenceforward,  in  spite  of  the 
walty  state  of  the  almost  worn-out  vessel,  of  their 
sorely  hampered  condition  for  fighting  the  stern 
elements  in  that  rugged  quarter  of  the  globe,  they  had 
all  gained  imni'Misely  in  the  essentials  for  fighting 
the  good  fight  which  brave  sailors  are  often  called 
upon  to  wage,  and,  as  in  this  case,  with,  metaphorically 
speaking,  one  hand  tied  behind  them. 

Within  a  few  hours  the  gale  blew  itself  out,  and 


Wedded  Bliss 


3^^3 


sliiftod  r.-ipririously  with  •^narlin;^  squalls  round  af^'ainst 
the  sun  into  the  north-east.  And  this  chanf,'c  scctnod 
to  bring  to  the  minds  (or  what  fills  that  office  in  birds) 
of  tlu^  two  Pigeons  a  duty  that  must  be  performed 
without  further  delay.  For  no  sooner  had  the  old 
barriue  been  put  upon  the  other  tack,  and  all  hands 
set  busily  to  work  replacmg  such  sails  as  were  essential, 
fiian  they  took  two  or  three  quick  turns  round  her, 
as  if  fixing  her  outlines  in  their  memories,  and  then 
mounting  high  in  air,  poised  for  a  moment,  and  shot 
off  due  south  for  Prince  Edward's  Isle.  They  reached 
it  before  dusk,  and  a  bleak,  forbidding,  storm-lashcd 
place  it  was,  to  all  human  ideas.  But  the  pretty  little 
seafarers  swept  together  into  a  sheltered  corner  between 
two  gigantic  boulders  quite  out  of  reach  of  the  biting 
blasts  and  fitful  showers  of  snow,  and  there  for  the 
tirst  time  for  many  weeks  they  nestled  down  together 
on  the  firm  earth  in  closest  companionship  away 
from  the  surface  of  the  never-resting  sea.  Little 
twitterings  sounded  contentedly  through  the  gloom 
of  the  i>lace,  and  bright  eyes  twinkling  from  snug 
crevices  revealed  the  presence  of  many  companions 
here  on  the  same  conjugal  and  familiar'errand.  And 
?o  the  rugged  savage  rocks  became  beautified  by  the 
presence  of  happy  life,  and  their  usefulness  as  a  shelter 
overtopped  the  sense  of  their  exceedingly  terrible 
aspect. 

That  night  the  little  visitors  slept  soundly  and 
unusually  ;  for  it  is  a  peculiarity  of  the  lives  of  fish 
and  birds— at  least  sea-birds— that  sleep,  which  is  so 
urgent  a  necessity  to  all  land  animals,  is  with  them 
a  lu.xury  which  may  apparently  be  dispensed  with 
for  long  periods  wi,  .out  causing  them  any  incon- 
venience. At  least  in  any  reasonable  quantity,  for 
one  can  hardly  call   tae  exceedingly  brief  snatche? 


3^)4  Cape  Pigeons  and  Whale  Birds 


z> 


of  ^lunib.  r  tak.'ii  sa\-  ])y  sei-birds  on  tlic  wiiv:,  or 
ricliiif^  easily  tlu-  surface  of  f^'alc-tormcnttd  billows, 
by  the  sweet    iiul  restful  naiiie  of  sleep. 

Morning  broke  coldly  and  drearily.  The  \o\\- 
hanging  sky  was  full  of  snow,  the  moaning  of  the  wind 
presaged  storm,  and  the  rocks  bared  their  fangs  like 
black  icebergs.  Hut  in  the  tiny  crevice,  open  to  the 
heaven  above,  though  shielded  from  the  diiect  blast 
of  the  bitter  wind,  the  two  wee  birds  nestled  side  by 
side,  cosv,  content  and  warm.  The  beautiful  garments 
of  ftMthrrs  and  down  wherewith  Infuiite  Thouglit  had 
clothed  them  were  impervious  to  out'T  cold  and  wet, 
so  long  as  fuel  for  tlie  hot  little  body  w.is  forthcoming 
in  suflli  ient  (]uantity.  Antl  they  had  each  other,  a 
deliglitful  companionship  wherein  e\ery  desire,  every 
intention  coincided,  not  one  j.ming  note  or  cranny 
for  unhappiness  to  creep  in  and  kill  peace.  So  since 
there  was  no  need  as  yet  for  active  search  for  food, 
they  sat  gentlv  communing,  in  tinkling  notes  quite 
unlike  their  shrill  cries  at  sea,  and  frecpiently  caressing 
one  another  with  their  beaks  with  a  tender  smoothing 
motion. 

M.anwhilc  outside,  tb'^  tremendous  elemental  or- 
chestra tuned  up,  until  about  noon  the  awful  concert 
began.  The  sea,  outstripping  the  wind,  as  it  often 
docs  down  in  those  latitudes,  hurled  itself  mountain- 
ously  at  those  sullen  rock-bases,  sending  sheets  of 
hissing  spray  hundreds  of  feet  into  the  air,  and  uttering 
a  deep  earthquake  note  more  pervading  than  thunder. 
Then  the  gale,  angry,  shrieking  and  searching,  burst 
upon  the  island,  tearing  the  crests  horn  the  biliows, 
and  drenching  the  whole  area  of  land  with  briny  spray. 
And  simultaneously  the  deep-keeled  clouds,  torn  intc 
massy  fragments  by  the  frantic  storm,  cast  forth 
their  burden  of  water,  which,   passing  through  the 


A   Strenuous   Husband         ^Gs 


bittcrlv  (ol'l  .!!••  belli', itli,  niiiif^'It'd  with  tin-  .lyin^' 
sca-spr.iv  ill  tl  shape  ot  l.ir^e  ll.ikes  ut  snow.  Hy 
tnul-afti  rnouii  tlie  tcnipc^l  w.i-.  at  its  h/ii^'ht.  ra,i,'ini^' 
uitli  utmost  fury.  And  thi-  piettv  little  hen-l)ird, 
fully  occupied  now  with  Ii't  uiaternal  cares.  lo(jkfd 
appcalin^ly  at  her  sturdy  ni.itc,  who  pulled  out  all 
his  feathers  and  ehirpeil  i  br.ive  response,  as  if  lie  felt 
honoured  witli  the  commission  to  provide  fcr  his 
cherished  one.  Just  a  nuiiute  or  t.vo  of  cartfu" 
pre]).. ration  by  sleeking  down  the  close-lyiuj,'  feathers, 
a  cjuick  caress,  and  with  a  sudden  llutteriuf.;  spring 
he  was  gone,  passing  out  around  the  pret  ipitc  us  rock 
uarrier  almost  like  a  larger  snowllake  caught  in  a 
returning  eddy  and  whirled  backwards  out  to  sea. 

Here  he  was  in  the  very  heart  and  tumult  of  the 
storm,  and  no  llap  lA  his  wings  was  needed,  only  "areful 
and  instinc*'ve  steering  in  order  to  keep  ir  the  right 
place  lor  the  reception  of  the  propelling  force  to  carry 
him  whither  he  would  go.  It  was  a  strange  ^'nd 
strenuous  cjuest.  Now  poised  awhile  in  mid-air  so 
thick  with  snow  and  spindrift  that  the  seething  ocean 
only  a  few  feet  beneath  was  invisible,  now  darting 
confidently  along  the  green  curve  of  a  mon-trous  sea, 
unheeding  the  curling  snowy  crest  above  his  head. 
Anon  a  meteor-like  dash  into  the  creanung  smooth 
between  the  hollow  of  one  sea  and  the  brcxid  round 
shoulder  of  the  next,  a  poise  with  s  vift  lluttering 
wings  like  those  of  a  butterlly  hovering  over  a  flower 
in  the  momentary  calm,  a  sudden  plunge  into  the 
whirl,  and  forceful  descent  into  peace,  a  delicious 
UKnithful  and  a  triumphant  return.  And  all  the  while 
the  keen  black  eyes  never  ceased  their  cjuest  or  grew 
Weary.  F  jr  over  an  hour  this  fierce  search  for  needful 
food  contiiuied  at  utmost  strain,  then  suddenly  the 
brave  little  bird  shot  into  the  air  from  a  wave-trough, 


•■-w:!!! 


366  Cape  Ptgeons  and  Whale  Birds 

a  Jarge  squid  squirming  in  the  lethal  hook  of  his  beak. 
Almost  instantaneously  he  got  his  bearings,  and  hke 
an  arrow  from  a  bow,  with  drooping  wings,  but  driven 
by  the  full  force  of  the  gale  he  sped  shoreward,  round 
the  rock,  and  settled  quietly  by  the  side  of  his  patient 
mate.  She  gently  opened  her  mouih,  and  into  it 
he  dropped  his  prize. 

And  thus  in  the  midst  of  storm  and  stress  the  tiny 
pair  took  their  annual  vacation  from  sea- wandering, 
and  the  stout-hearted  little  husband  his  deliglit  in 
ministering  to  the  wants  of  his  dear  partner,  at  prese-it 
incapacitated  from  bearing  her  part  in  the  ordinary 
business  of  daily  life.  He  was  suiircmely  haj)pv, 
for  who  can  doubt  that,  at  times  like  these,  even  what 
we  are  pleased  to  call  the  lower  animals  realise  fully 
that  it  is  more  blessed  to  give  than  to  receive  ?  And 
she  was  happy  too  ;  for  clasped  closely  to  her  soft, 
warm  bosom  were  four  precious  treasures,  smooth, 
rounded  morsels  of  herself,  upon  which  she  gazed  with 
eyes  humid  with  love,  as  she  turned  them  so  that  the 
sand  beneath,  though  warmed  somewhat  by  the  over- 
flowing heat  of  her  maternal  breast,  should  not  chill 
them  and  frustrate  her  fond  hopes.  The  quiet  hours 
sped  on,  marked  now  and  then  by  a  hea\enly  day 
of  tender  blue  above  and  placid  sea  beneath,  teeming 
with  easily  won  food.  But  whether  fair  or  foul, 
the  sweet  marital  solicitude  of  the  cheery  husband 
never  failed,  any  more  than  the  motherly  patience  of 
the  little  mother. 

And  then  came  the  climax  of  joy,  when  four  odd 
little  balls  of  down  witli  wide-ga^  ing  tliroats  suddenly 
appeared,  and  demanded  with  one  querulous  voice, 
'  Food,  food,  food.'  Indeed,  the  father,  now  somewhat 
doubtful  of  the  magnitude  of  his  task,  had  all  his 
work  to  do,  and  do  as  he  would  he  could  not  quiet 


Family   Duties  Completed     367 

that  hungry  wail,  except  at  night,  for  more  than  a 
few  minutes  at  a  time.  But  .gradually  it  became  possi- 
ble for  his  patient  partner  to  accompany  him  for  a 
little  while,  then  for  longer,  until  finally  the  whole 
family  might  have  been  seen  out  upon  the  restless 
billows,  the  children  being  taught  their  life-lesson. 
Then,  as  is  right  and  ine\-itable  in  the  lower  animal 
kingdom,  the  natural  affection  of  the  offspring  waned 
as  the  latter  became  fit  to  fight  life's  battle  unaided, 
and  one  fine  morning  the  faithful  pair  flew  north- 
ward, while  their  children  took  independent  paths 
and  went  their  several  ways. 


CHAPTER    XXV 
THE    PETRELS 


PROPERLY  speaking,  several  members  of  this 
gnat  family  of  marine  birds  have  already  been 
dealt  with  by  me,  under  the  heading  of  albatross. 
But  I  am  not  a  stickler  for  adhesion  to  any  scientific 
division  of  birds  into  their  varieties,  and  in  considering 
the  Petrels  my  mind  is  mainly  fixed  upon  one  species 
only,  the  tiny  creature  known  as  the  Stormy  Petrel, 
or  to  sailors  most  affectionately  and  inconclusively 
as  the  Mother  Carey's  Chicken.  Why  Mother  Carey 
or  why  chicken  is  a  mystery.  Who  Mother  Carey 
may  represent  in  the  seafarer's  mind  I  really  cannot 
imagine,  unless  she  be  Davy  Jones's  aunt  ;  but  even 
so,  to  compare  the  Stormy  Petrel  with  a  chicken, 
either  Mother  Carey's  or  another's,  has  always  seemed 
to  me  a  great  error  of  judgment.  I  kno^  and  love 
cliickens  thoroughly,  but  between  them  and  the  Stormy 
Petrel  there  is  not  one  single  point  of  resemblance, 
except  that  they  are  both  birds.  For  the  chicken 
is  essentially  a  domestic  creature,  delicate,  full  of 
liabilities  to  ailments,  needing  great  care  and  a  snug 
roosting-place  every  night,  if  it  is  to  be  kept  alive. 

But  the  Stormy  Petrel  !  Tiniest  yet  sturdiest 
of  all  sea-birds,  ranging  all  over  tlie  wide,  wild  ocean, 
lilting  fearlessly  under  the  cnr\e  of  a  mighty  Cape 
Horn  sea,  or  skimming  swallow-like  over  the  glassy 
surface  of  the  Equatorial  Current  ;    equally  at  home 

368 


■TMwuiMiiaBear-r- 


A  Lovable   Sea^Bird 


369 


1)11  [he  vvrither  scarp  of  a  frowning  iceberg,  or  around 

'he   plr.i-intly  lapped  beach   of  a  coral  atoll   in  mid 

I'.iciiic;     clieery,    indomitabl(>    little    waif,    who    with 

!  heart  as  big  as  a  grain  of  mustard  seed  could  help 

I'A-ing  you  ?     I  could  not  wi-;h  the  Bible  other  in  any 

n  s])ect  tlian  it  is,  but  somelujw  I  have  alwavs  longed 

Mt   mention   of   the   Stormy   Petrel   had   bJen   made 

i.i  it.     I  rejoice  to  note  tlie  gentle  Saviour's  reference 

h>   the   sparrow,    to   the   dove,    to   the   hen   gathering 

litT   chickens    under    her   wings  ;     but    I    have    never 

-een    the   Stormy    Petrel    Hitting   between    crest    and 

In  How    of    the    mighty    storm-waves    in    mid-ocean, 

uh(>n   the  great  shij)  was  being  tested  in  every  fibre 

of  Iier  build,  but  I  have  thought  how  much  I  should 

Iia\-e  liked  to  see  tliat  dear  wee  brave  thing  mentioned 

in  the  best  of  all  books. 

The  Stormy  Petrel  (Proccllaria  pclagica)  is  a  black- 
and-white  bird  of  about  the  bigness  of  a  thrush.  Its 
uings  are  somewhat  broader  and  sturdier  tlian  those 
of  the  latter  bird,  and  its  legs  are  longer — very  long, 
in  fact,  in  projiortion  to  its  si^e  for  a  sea-bird.  With 
the  tiny  webbed  feet  attached,  they  look  as  if  made 
"f  black  silk,  and  they  are  much  more  in  c\idence 
(han  those  of  any  of  the  other  pelagic  birds,  from  an 
inveterate  habit  tiiis  Petrel  has  of  stretching  them 
'It  one  liter  another,  and  just  touching  the  water 
V.  ith  them  as  it  skims  over  tlie  surface.  For  the  Petrel 
does  not  fly  high  ;  no  one  ever  saw  a  Stormy  Petrel 
twenty  feet  above  the  sea  unless  it  had  been  taken 
;  ere,  or  was  at  its  nesting-place,  of  which  more  anon. 
It.  principal  chaiacteristic  is  I  think,  insu-^cepti- 
h.hty  to  fatigue.  It  doi^s  seem  to  have  solved  the 
secret  of  perpetual  motion.  In  the  course  of  fifteen 
vars'  voyaging,  scarcely  a  day  of  which  while  at  sea 
iiaa  pasa.d  without  seeing   tJK^e  dear  httle   birds,  I 


3/0 


The  Petrels 


have  never  scon  one  at  rest.  When  feeding  they  do 
not  settle  on  the  sea  ;  they  hover  over  the  wave  and 
peck  at  their  food,  whatever  it  may  be,  much  as  a 
butterllv  hovers  over  and  sips  at  a  flower.  But  the 
idea  <jf  resting  upon  the  sea-surface  never  seems  to 
occur  to  tluni,  eitlier  by  day  or  by  niglit  ;  for  on  a 
fnie  night  in  the  middle  watch— that  is,  from  twelve 
to  four — I  have  often  watched  the  little  dark  shapes 
still  Hitting  around,  and  heard,  by  listening  closely, 
their  low,  twittering  cry.  This  faculty  alone  would 
in  so  small  a  bird  have  given  them  a  mysterious 
importance  in  the  eyes  of  sailors,  but  in  addition 
to  that  there  is  the  fact  of  their  constancy  to  ships 
everywhere.  There  are  parts  of  the  ocean  where 
no  birds  but  tliese  are  ever  seen  by  the  sailor  ;  but 
I  have  never  sailed  anywhere,  from  Behring  Straits 
to  Antarctica,  from  Labrador  to  the  Crozets,  where 
I  have  not  seen  these  little  nomads  of  the  sea.  Of 
course,  and  I  am  rather  tired  of  pointing  it  out,  they, 
like  the  dolphins  and  fish,  cannot  accompany  a  swift 
steamship  as  they  used  to  the  leisurely  wind-jammer, 
and  in  conseciucnce  future  generations  of  seafarers 
will  not  know  them  at  all — a  very  serious  loss. 

Naturalists  declare  that  the  Stormy  Petrels  in 
one  ocean  differ  from  those  in  another,  while  at  the 
same  time  admitting  that  varieties  from  the  Southern 
Pacific  have  been  seen  in  Britain.  Common  sailors 
like  myself  prefer  to  believe  that  all  this  nice  division 
into  sul>families,  except  for  purposes  of  high  science, 
has  no  value,  and,  indeed,  very  often  we  know  that 
varieties  have  been  tabulated  between  birds  and 
fish  of  exactly  the  same  character  on  account  of  some 
little  peculiarity.  One  property  of  the  Petrels,  both 
large  and  small,  has  often  been  noted,  their  peculiarly 
musky  smell,  which  extends  to  their  eggs  both  outside 


An  Universal  Scent  371 

and  in,  and  n:ay  bo  recognised,  no  matter  lunv  Ion- 
a  pcru.d  lias  elapsed  since  tliose  hollow  sIkIIs  were 
added  to  the  n.Ileet.ii's  cabinet. 

Heiv  I   feel  that   it  may  be  pard<;nal)Ie  to  di-ress 
for   a    few    lines    into       insi(Jering    the    extraordinary 
fact  of  the   uniwrsdily  of  the  scent  of  musk.     On 
shore  w(>  are,  of  vout^o,  very  familiar  with  it  in  its 
most    dehrate    and     delightful    form,    namely,     that 
emanatmg    from    the    {.ivtty    little    plant,    Mimtdus 
moschatns,  which  will,  with  such  slight  encouragement 
perpetuate  itself  year  after  year,  and  make  the  u  hole' 
garden  fragrant  on  sunmier  e\enings,  especially  after 
a  light  ram-shower.     But  for  the  needs  of  the  per- 
ftnr,er  the  Himalayas  are  scoured  in  order  to  secure 
the  musk  pods  of  a  certain  kind  of  deer,  whicn  are 
so  mtensely  odoriferous  as  to  induce  bleeding  at  the 
nose  m   many  people  who   take  an  incautious  snif^. 
riie  musk  rat's  tail,  not  even  his  scent  sac,  but  his 
tail,  will  suflice  to  perfume  a  drawer  for  a  musk  lover 
for  many  years  ;    in  fact,  once  that  scent  is  diffused 
It    is    improbable    that    the    receptacle   containing   it 
ever  loses  it  again.     The  cruel  and  hideous  saurian 
that  shmily  awaits  its  prey  at  Indian  village  fords, 
m    South    American    creeks,    and    Australian    back- 
country  brooks  is  redolent   of  musk,   pungent,   nau- 
seating,  and   never-to-be-forgotten   odour   that   it   is. 
Ihe  marvellous  ambergris  of  the  sperm  whale,  although 
only    faintly   smellipg   of   musk   itself,    has   certainly 
one    quality    amidst    all    the    fabulous   ones    credited 
to  It,  of  enhancing  tenfold  the  power  of  any  perfume 
to  which  it  is  added  during  the  process  of  distilla- 
tion.    And   anv  one  who  has  ever  had  occasion   to 
use  a  ^ube  ot  sepia  or  stick  of  China  ink,  has  probably 
tested   Its  genuineness   by  smelling  it,   the  faint  yet 
penetratmg  odour  being  immediately  apparent. 


372 


The   Petrels 


Nf)\v  as  far  as  the  grnesis  of  rrnisk  in  land  animals 
is  concenu'd  I  am  unable  to  offer  any  ojjjnion.  But 
the  power  of  ambergris,  the  s>.-ent  of  sepia,  the  muski- 
ness  of  Petrels  and  their  eg,i,'s,  are  only  to  be  referred 
to  one  origin— the  squid  or  cuttle  iish  in  all  his  varieties, 
and  how  numerous  they  are  let  Mr.  Edgar  Smith,  the 
orudite  curator  of  the  moilusca  at  Sou>h  Kensington, 
tell  you — I  cannot.  Again  and  again  I  am  conscience- 
smitten  at  having  ever  said  a  word  against  the  squid, 
for  at  every  turn  in  discussing  the  lives  of  the  Deep- 
Sea  People  aerial  and  marine,  I  find  that  without 
the  squid  the  other  creatures  simply  could  not  be. 
He  is  the  basis,  as  it  were,  on  which  they  are  built. 
This  is  most  esjx'cially  the  case  with  regard  to  my 
tiny  friend  the  Stormy  Petrel.  So  feeble,  so  small 
is  he,  that  any  competition  with  the  ordinary  soa  bird 
in  the  universal  struggle  for  food,  or  any  capture 
of  fish  in  mid-sea,  are  alike  out  of  the  question.  But 
the  languid  LoUgo,  the  little  squid  of  an  inch  or  so  in 
length,  is  always  handy  on  the  surface,  easy  of  capture 
by  even  so  slight  and  weak  a  bird  as  the  Stormy  Petrel, 
and  in  this  way  the  latter  little  hungry  creature  is 
fed  More  times  than  I  can  remember  I  have  seen 
the  little  fellow  in  the  midst  of  its  dartings  to  and 
fro  in  the  wake  of  our  flying  ship,  well  on  one  side  of 
us,  w^here  it  could  no!  :  ave  been  possible  for  anything 
dropped  from  forecastle  or  galley  to  float,  pause  sud- 
denly, and  with  fully  stretched  legs  and  quickly 
fluttering  wings  reach  down  to  the  creaming  surface, 
and  snatch  something  therefrom  with  a  shrill  cry 
of  satisfaction.  That  something  was  invariably  a 
little  squid,  a  boneless  succulent  morsel  created  to 
tliat  end,  without  prevision  or  possibility  of  feeling 
pain,  and  conseriuently  perfectly  happy  even  while  in 
process  of  transition  into  other  forms  of  usefulness. 


The   'Four  Petrel 


373 


For  a  brief  space,   and   before  entering   into   the 
family  history  and  sea-f^'oinj,'  career  of  the   tiny  wee 
wanderer  I  love  so  well,  I  must  pay  the  complinvnt 
of  notice  to  an  almost  unique  member  of  the  family, 
tlie  Fulmar  Petrel.     Its  front  name  indicates  to  those 
conversant   with   Scottish   idioms   the   prevalent   cha- 
racteristic of  the  bird.     The  word  has  been  crudely 
translat:d   by   the   practical   Americans   into   an    un- 
pleasant but  entirely  appropriate  Anglo-Saxon  equiva- 
lent, Stinker.     The  reasons  for  this  coarse  cognomen 
is  self-evident  ;    the  bird  is  really  the  skunk  of  the 
feathered   world  ;     and   on   the  principle,    I    suppose, 
that  the  more  unpleasant  the  remedy  the  more  certain 
the  cure,  the  isl.mders  of  St.   Kilda  seize  the  living 
bird  and  squeeze  from  its  throat  a  little  oil,  a  table- 
spoonful  or  so,  which  is  considered  to  be  an  infallible 
remedy  for  chronic  rheumatism.     I  will  not  say  that 
the  remedy  is  W(jrse  than  the  disease,  but  certainly 
those  using  it  deserve  to  get  cured.     It  almost  helps 
one   to   understand   the   Chinese  predilection   for  the 
application   of   the   mo.\a,   a   red-heated   iron,    to   an 
inflamed   part  for  curative  purposes.     But   Pennant, 
that   entirely   unreliable   but   most   delightful   writer, 
says,  that  no  bird  is  of  such  value  to   the  islanders 
as  this.     It  supplies  them  with  oil  for  their  lamps, 
down  fo.-  their  beds,  a  delicacy  (!)  for  their  tables, 
and  a  medicine  for  their  distempers. 

In  the  Southern  Seas  among  whalemen  it  is  ■ 
notorious  as  being  the  only  bird  which,  in  the  midst 
of  waiting  thousands,  will  fearlessly  perch  upon  the 
body  of  a  dead  whale,  and  begin  tearing  at  the  skin, 
m  the  hope  of  getting  an  advance  subscription  to  its 
dinner  fund.  It  comes  down  with  a  thud,  and  hence 
the  territic  threat  of  the  Yankee  whaling  officer  : 
'  I'll  'light  on  ye  like  a  Stinker  on  a  carcase.'     Not 


374 


The  Petrels 


even  the  most  cwlhusiastic  of  Nature  loveri?  roiild 
truthfully  profess  to  see  any  beauty  in  a  Fulmar. 
Its  colours  are  nondescript,  dingy  ;  its  beak  huge 
and  cabbage-water  green.  In  numbers  south  of  the 
Line  it  is  to  seek,  only  up  north,  in  those  unfilled 
regions  of  cold  and  storm,  do(\s  it  flourish  in  vast 
flocks,  and  provide  a  pat(  nt  medicine  for  St.  Kildians. 
Among  the  almost  inaccessible  rocks  of  the  Hebrides 
it  breeds,  but  nowhere  in  such  numbers  as  at  St. 
Kilda,  affording  to  the  hardy  lonely  islanders,  wlio 
have  long  learned  not  to  be  fastidious,  a  never-failing 
means  of  livelihood.  Although  one  would  have 
thought  that  a  Fulmar's  egg  for  breakfast  would  act 
as  a  sure  discouragement  against  any  further  experi- 
ments in  the  direction  of  egg  eating,  from  the  ex- 
ceedingly rank  and  inimitable  odour  thereof,  these 
dainties  are  so  highly  thought  of  by  the  St.  Kildians 
that  the  collecting  of  them  forms  the  principal  occu- 
pation of  the  i-1  inders.  In  it  they  continually  risk 
their  lives,  as  the  bird  roosts  in  the  most  inaccessible 
places,  on  ledges  a  few  inches  wide,  worn  in  the  faces 
of  peri)endicular  or  overhanging  precipices.  In  like 
manner  also  do  the  islanders  collect  the  live  oil  from 
the  bird's  stomach  ;  just  a  few  teaspoonfuls  of  clear 
but  -tensely  fetid  oil,  which  the  bird  vomits  when 
seizeu,  into  a  vessel  held  for  the  purpose.  Buc  all 
this  is  a  many-times  told  tale,  and  one  perhaps  which 
is  not  strictly  within  the  limits  of  my  subject.  It  is 
exceedingly  strange,  however,  that  while  the  northern 
Fulmar  is  so  very  abundant,  and  is,  moreover,  never 
seen  far  from  snore,  his  southern  brother  is  a  solitary 
bird  as  far  as  his  own  kind  go,  and  is  met  with  as  far 
from  land  as  any  bird  can  get. 

And  now,  as  it  would  only  be  tiresome  repetition 
to  go  over  the  small  difference  between  the  varieties 


Perpetual   Motion 


375 


ni  Prncclhru,,  and  besides  quite  contrary  to  my  usual 
rule,   I  plKlly  return  to  the  Motlier  Caw's  Chic-ken 
b.ographically,  givn^^  first  of  all  s.^me  few  details  of  mv 
own  personal  acquaintance  with  them,  ever  gratefully 
remembered.     How   timidly  on   mv   first   vov.ige  did 
I  ask  the  mate    a  big  gruff  Norwegian,   wh'at  those 
pretty  little  birds  were.     How  could  I  tell  that  I  was 
rommitting  a   serious   breach   of  etiquette  ?     He   re- 
plied very  giufily  and   unintelligibly,  '  Stern   Fitter  ' 
ventured  to  say,  '  What  ?  '   and  was  at  once  bidden 
to     shut  up     and  look  out  for  mvself,  as  if  he  had 
been  insulted  by  my  not  understanding  him      I  took 
the  hint  and  asked  no  more,  nor  did  I  Itarn  that '  those 
httle  birds ;  were  Stormy  Petrels  for  a  very  long  time, 
a  though    like  other  sailors.  I  of  course  knew  them  as 
.Mother  Carey's  Chickens. 

But   they  were  always  a  source  of  never-ending 
delight  to  me  while  at  sea,  and  of  wonder  too,  for  I 
rould  not  help  feeling  that   they  had  indeed  solved 
the  great  problem  of  perpetual  motion  ;   never  needing 
or  desiring  rest   apparently,   and  always  sticking   to 
the  same  ship  to  which  they  had  taken  a  fancy  in 
•aim  or  storm,  whether  flying  before  a  gale  or  stag- 
nating  through  many  days  of  windlessness,   as  was 
common  with  the  old  sailing-ships.     I  was  glad  to 
see  how  the  sailors  generally  regarded  them  as  birds 
ot  good  omen,  and  in  nowise  to  be  meddled  with 
Indeed    in  my  day  not  a  few  seamen  really  looked 
'.pen   them  as  the  spirits  of  departed  sailors,  who 
never  weary,  flitted  over  the  bright  pure  sea  eternaUy! 
!  ut  then  many  seamen  thus  r,  ga  ded  the  albatross 
also    yet   I   never  saw  the  same  sincere   reluctance 
to  do   them   harm   as  was  always   evinced   towards 
ttie  Stormy  Petrel. 

Once  I  saw  a  man,  a  second  mate,  wearying  for 


•  / 


G 


The   Petrels 


snmcthiiiL;  to  do,  (  ,iti  h  (.nc  of  the  pntty  crcatuns 
1)V  means  of  tlm  kh-taired  roping  twino  att.uiul 
to  a  bait  of  jioik,  uiiiv'  was  liookfd  on  to  the  end 
of  a  fiyliing-line.  The  little  hiid.  fluttering  over  the 
meat  and  continually  toudiiiiL^  the  water  with  its 
fe(  t,  as  is  its  wont,  i^ot  them  t  nt,ini;led  in  the  sticky 
twnie,  and  w;is  hauled  in  all  Ix  di  au'^ded,  its  bright 
vivacity  gone,  and  iir>-enlly  lay  i.anliiig  and  helpless 
in  tlu-  grip  of  its  si!l\-  tormentor.  I'ortunati'ly  tlie 
capt.iin  mniing  on  do  k  at  an  o!)portune  moment, 
saw  the  shameful  deed,  ,iiul  gaw  that  second  mate 
such  a  wigguig  as  I  liojie  did  him  good.  It  was  the 
only  iinie  in  my  life  that  I  ever  rejoiced  to  see  a  sub- 
ordinate on  bo.ird  sliip  iecei\e  a  public  reprimand. 

F.Ncn  to  the  last  day  of  m\-  sea-<ervice  I  was  unable 
to  divest  nly^(lf  of  the  feeling,  wlu'n  watching  the 
movements  of  the  wee  I'etrel  in  a  gale,  that  they  were 
sent  to  the  Sculor  as  an  object  lesson  of  the  all-per- 
vading care  of  (lod.  Tht>  mighty  ship  in  a  hea\  y  storm 
does  look  so  insignificant  in  conflict  with  the  ocean, 
all  man's  skill  and  genius  and  courage  comit  for  such 
a  little  against  the  immeasurable  power  of  His  sea, 
and  is  so  dependent  upon  the  faithful  co-operation 
of  all  concerned,  that  it  comes  with  a  wonderful  relief 
to  study  the  tiny  wee  seafarer  alongside  coquetting 
with  the  wildi-^t  w.ives,  and  untroubled  by  the  fiercest 
storm.  In  nothing.  I  think,  under  heaven  is  the 
wisdom,  love,  and  care  of  (lod  more  manifest  than 
in  the  behaviour  of  a  Mother  Carey's  Chicken  in  a 
tempest.  But  let  us  as-ociate  oursehes  more  in- 
timately with  a  i)air,  for  only  by  so  doing  can  wc  realise 
what  a  wonderful  thing  their  life  is. 

That  was  a  very  luiu.ly  murning  when  I  discovered 
that  mv  father  and  motlier  had  both  left  me.  Ev.r 
since  I  rii>t  fi.uiHl  mvMlf  in  the  cosv  little  rock  tunnel 


»  *"HiPi'"l'V  »H 


My  Birthplace 


?>11 


in  Kcrpurlon  Island,  my  only  S(>nsation  that  of  being 
ravenously  hun,L,'ry.  I  had  never  been  out  of  their 
sight,  one  or  the  other  of  them,  for  an  hour  by  day 
or  by  night.  At  first  they  used  to  come  and  go  almo-,t 
•  ■(intinually,  always  dropping  some  delightful  morsel 
down  my  gaping  throat,  and  scurrying  away  through 
(he  tunnel  again  as  if  they  had  not  a  moment  to  spare. 
-And  they  would  hardly  be  gone  before  I  began  again 
loudly  lamenting  my  lark  of  food. 

But  let  me  tell  you  about  my  home,  for  I  ne\-er 
forgot  it  in  all  my  long  journeyings  ;  when  the  time 
( ame  at  the  fall  of  the  year  for  me  to  return  thither,  I 
did  so  over  the  thousands  of  miles  of  intervening  sea 
as  straight  as  the  wind  blows  over  those  miglity  open 
spaces.  As  perhaps  you  know,  Kerguelen  is,  for  those 
people  who  use  the  land  continually,  just  a  desolate 
mass  of  rork  and  sand,  with  hardly  a  sign  of  anything 
growing  but  birds  and  seals,  far  down  the  slope  of 
the  Southern  Sea.  At  one  place  there  is  quite  a  moun- 
tain rises  straight  up  from  the  sea  facing  the  south, 
but  this  mountain  is  pplit  in  half ;  right  in  the  middle 
of  it  there  is  a  crack  as  wide  as  a  porpoise  that  runs 
through  from  the  sea  to  a  quiet  little  plateau  beyond. 
All  around  this  little  flat  patch,  which  is  floored'  with 
black  sand,  there  are  round  holes  in  the  rocks  which 
run  in  about  ten  times  my  length  and  widen  out  a 
little  when  you  get  as  far  in  as  you  can. 

Here,  in  this  cosy  shelter  from  storm  and  wind, 
which  I  never  felt  the  need  of  at  any  time  after  I 
left  it,  I  first  knew  I  was  alive.  And  when  first, 
after  a  long  stay  in  that  darkling  warmth,  I  was  lured 
slowly  along  the  passage  by  my  gentle  little  mother 
{I  was  so  much  bigger  tlian  she  was)  I  trembled  so  that 
I  could  hardly  move.  You  see,  I  had  never  before 
moved  except  in  the  tiny  little  hollow  where  I  was 


37S 


The  Petrels 


horn.  But  ;it  la'^t  \vc  reached  the  opening,  and  to 
my  ani.i/<  nvnt  and  fear  my  mother  floated  away 
into  spai  e,  leavin}<  me  shivering  there,  and  watehinp 
her  witli  starting  eyes.  Feebly  I  cried  to  her  to  come 
back  to  me,  but  she  replied  with  gentle  twitterings 
of  invitation,  in  response  to  which  I  felt  an  earnest, 
an  almost  ("leree  dt^sire  to  do  as  she  was  doing,  to  join 
her  in  those  graceful  airy  circles  that  she  was  making. 

Then  mv  father  flashed  on  to  the  scene.  Where 
he  came  from  I  did  not  see,  but  there  he  was  joining 
his  entreaties  to  those  of  my  mother,  and  every  little 
while  caressing  her  with  his  beak.  Oli,  how  patient 
they  were  !  It  does  make  me  asliamed  when  I  think 
of  the  long  time  during  which  I  resisted  their  invi- 
tions  to  join  them,  to  try  those  new  wings  of  mine, 
which  indeed  were  working  jerkily  of  their  own  accord 
at  my  side-.  How  many  false  starts  I  made,  until 
at  last,  (juite  by  accident  it  seemed,  T  found  myself 
in  the  air.  full  of  fear,  but  working  my  limbs  frantically 
in  obedience  to  some  hidden,  unknown,  compelling 
power. 

It  is  all  a  blur,  all  full  of  mystery,  that  first  flying 
lesson.  All  I  remember  is  that  presently  I  found 
myself  on  the  ledge  at  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel  again, 
with  a  new  strange  feeling  of  triumph  all  over  me, 
almost  overcoming  the  trembling  which  had  so  dis- 
tressed nrie.  I  was  trembling  still,  but  part  of  it  was 
due  to  joy.  After  that,  I  was  coaxed  again  and  again 
to  try  those  wings  of  mine,  and  no  more  food  was 
brought  into  the  tunnel  for  me.  I  found  myself 
growing  apparently  stronger,  lighter  and  lighter.  I 
did  not  know,  of  course,  that  the  latter  was  really 
the  case,  the  mass  of  fat  with  which  I  was  enciimbcred 
when  first  I  tried  to  fly  having  become  absorbed  in 
my  tissues,  and  muscle  having  taken  its  place.     It 


My   First  Lesson 


379 


!  !'l  bron  n(>r(ssary  in  ordrr  to  keep  mr  warm  ulu-n  I 
hi  not  move,  but  now  as  I  needed  it  no  mure  it  had 

k'ine. 

So  day  by  day  I  brramc  stronger  and  more  daring, 
until,  almost  unthinkingly,  I  daslird  out  of  the  narrow 
('I>''"ing  between  tho-^e  mighty  rocks  and  was  on  the 
Jmiious  sea,    my   real,   my   splendid   home.     And   in 
ti.a   wonderful  moment   I   felt  all   the  joy  of  living, 
the  dilight  of  being  m  my  rightful  place  and  master 
'I    my    surroundings.     I    f,lt    e.iger    to    emulate    my 
■  iivnts,  to  do  what  tluy  could  not  do,  although  in- 
Miiictively  I  folhjwcd  their  every  movement.     AiK^ther 
-uprise,  and  an  essentially  pleasant  one  ;   as  my  fatlier 
.'UMoped  down  the  side  of  a  wave,  I  saw  him  snatch 
it  a  little  white  wriggling  thing  there  and  swallow  it. 
lliere   was  another   by  its  side   at   which   I   dashed, 
M  i/ed  it,  and  gulped  it  down.     Delicious  first  morsel] 
how  sweet  it  was  to  feel  that  I  had  gained  it,  and  that 
all   this  wide   feasting  ground   was  mine  ! 

For  a  few  days  this  finishing  portion  of  my  edu- 
cation went  on,  I  growing  more  and  more  impatient 
<'i  being  taught,  until  one  day  my  father  and  I  hooked 
our  beaks  into  the  same  squid,  a  bigger  one  than  usual, 
and  I  fought  savagely  with  him  for  the  possession  of 
it.  Unknown  to  mc  the  parting  of  our  ways  had  come. 
Iiom  henceforth  le  was  no  more  to  me  or  I  to  him 
ti.au  any  two  chance-met  members  of  our  family, 
.n>l  although  we  returned  to  our  home  that  night 
t  was  for  the  la^t  time  together.  I  slept  soundly 
"  dawn,  then  waking  to  instant  activity,  as  is  the 


t:!l 


'  Mom  of  all  our  people,  sped  outwards  to  sea  to  find 
•r.w^L'U,  as  far  as  my  two  parents  were  concerned, 
•juite  alone.  As  I  have  before  said,  fur  a  little  time 
It  uas  very  lonely.  But  soon  the  natural  adjustment 
tuuk  place,  pride  in  my  ability  to  do  as  my  parents 


38o 


The  Petrels 


had  done,  even  better  than  they,  took  the  place  of 
my  first  sense  of  loss,  and  I  went  on  with  my  task  of 
getting    food    wliole-heartedly. 

But  now  I  felt  no  desire  to  return  to  that  quiet 
little  nook  which  had  hitherto  sheltered  me.  I  did 
not  feel  the  need  of  shelter  at  all.  Nor  did  I  feel  the 
necessity  of  companionship.  Blithely  I  fluttered  from 
wave  to  wave  intent  on  finding  food,  nor  noting  how 
the  grim  peaks  of  Kergueien  were  fading,  even  from 
my  keen  sight.  I  felt  as  if  I  had  just  been  released 
for  a  long,  long  holiday,  the  mighty  ocean  for  my 
playground,  abundant  food  at  my  feet,  and  the  possi- 
bility of  weariness  withheld.  Ah,  I  was  so  happy ! 
I  flew  on  and  on,  unheeding  whither,  taking  note  of 
an  occasional  lordly  relation,  a  huge  albatross,  or  a 
flight  of  Petrels  of  much  greater  size,  but,  ae^  I  noted 
with  satisfied  pride,  far  less  vigorous  than  I,  only  with 
none  of  them  did  I  speak  or  stay  for  one  moment. 
What  had  I  in  common  with  them — I,  the  self- 
sufficient,  the  weariless  one  ?  They  must  perforce 
rest  upon  tlu>  waves  now  and  again  ;  I,  never.  They 
could  not  feed  as  I  did,  their  great  bodies  disdaining 
the  tiny  succulent  morsels  upon  which  I  feasted  so 
royally,   and    I  was  glad,    so  glad. 

When  nicht  fell  and  the  sky  darkened  I  still  re- 
joiced  ;  when  the  mournful  wind  began  to  wail  over 
the  great  spaces,  and  the  waters  snarlingly  rose  in 
protest,  I  hovered  twittering,  content.  I  was  satisfied, 
why  not  they  ?  Steadily  rose  the  wi  ^d,  higher  mounted 
the  waves,  wliat  cared  I  ?  I  was  master  of  the  w'.ole 
wild  scene,  the  tumult  of  the  elements  was  but  a 
lullaby,  not  to  rock  me  to  slumber,  but  to  please  my 
delighted  ear.  as,  unconscious  of  effort,  I  still  sped  to 
and  fro  in  tlu;  darkness  of  the  great  night. 

By  morning  I  was  hungry,  so  eager  for  lood  that 


Pride  of  Place 


3S1 


all  other  sensations  lay  waiting.     Tlie  storm  was  at 
its  heiglit,  the  sky  nearly  toiuiied  the  sea.     The  waves 
rolled  long  and  sullenly,  unable  to  rise  to  their  desind 
size,  for  the  pressure  of  the  wind  held  th.ni  down. 
The  air  was  full  of  wetness,  it  was  hardly  to  b    known 
from  the  sea  itself.     But  I  was  shut  in  from  it  all  by 
a  downy  envelope,  my   body   (you   could   hold   three 
in  your  hand  at  once),  hot,  fully  sheltered,  palpitating 
with    eager    li\  ing.     I    skimmed    along    the    hissing, 
curdling  surface  of  the  sea,  eating  my  fill  in  peace, 
and  utterly  unlieeding  the  war  of  wind  and  wave  as 
I  did  so.     But  when  my  hunger  was  appeased  I  felt 
no  slothful  desire  to  fold  my  wings  and  sleep.     Added 
energy,  ecstasy  of  movement  impelled  me,  and  filled 
me  with  great  content.     The  bliss  of  living  possessed 
me  entirely,  and  although  net  another  of  my  kind  was 
near,  I  felt  no  need  of  one,     I  was  satisfied  with  myself 
for  company. 

But  presently  I  saw,  looming  up  through  the  gloom 
of  tlie  spindrift,  a  vast  shadowy  bulk  which  for  the 
moment  gave  me  a  strange  sensation  of  dread.  I  did 
not  know  it  ;  was  it  my  island  home  that  I  had  un- 
knowingly come  back  to  ?  I  drew  nearer  to  it  in  spite 
of  my  fears,  and  then  suddenly  knew  that  I  had  nothing 
to  dread.  It  was  a  ship,  a  great  vessel  being  sorely 
hraten  and  battered  by  the  miglity  sea.  How  proud 
I  felt  as  I  saw  that  gigantic  bulk  straining  to  keep  her 
place,  quivering  to  the  summit  of  her  tall  masts,  and 
rolling  in  the  seething  smother  Tk.'  a  dying  wliale,  that 
I,  wliose  body  was  almost  as  a  grain  of  dust  by  her 
side,  was  so  absolutely  safe,  comfortable,  and  free  from 
ill  appreiiension  even  of  danger  ! 

I  saw  men  for  the  fir-t  time.  Strange  beings  they 
wore,  tottering  about  that  great  thing  as  I  did  ere  I 
1  arned  to  fly,  evidently  not  at  home,  evidently  very 


383 


The  Petrels 


« 


;;se 


much  at  the  mercy  of  that  vengeful  sea,  and  fully 
conscious  of  the  fact.  Poor  men  !  I  knew  somehow 
that  thcv  would  not  harm  me,  knew  too  that  I  should 
here  find  food.  Felt  strangely  certain  that  in  some 
mystcriou'5  way  we  had  been  friends  for  many  genera- 
tions :  that  is,  my  forefathers  had  with  theirs,  and  the 
knowledge  had  come  down  to  me.  So  I  fluttered 
about  and  about  her,  noting  her  every  detail,  and 
especially  the  half-admiring,  half-pitying  glances  cast 
upon  me  by  the  men  who  stood  clutching  some  support, 
all  over  her. 

As  I  hovered  around  her  my  liking  for  her  increased, 
and  especially  for  the  sweet,  the  delicious  morsels 
which  continually  floated  away  from  her  in  the  broad 
smooth  space  she  left  as  she  drifted  sidelong.  I  was 
very  busy,  happy  of  course,  but  kept  fully  employed 
because  these  morsels  did  not  cloy,  but  rather  tempted 
my  vigorous,  healthy  appetite.  And  besides  I  felt 
prouder  than  ever,  because  I  was  sure  that  those  strange 
beings  were  continually  admiring  me,  and  wondering 
at  my  familiarity  with  the  terrible  sea,  which  was  so 
threatening  to  them.  And  then  suddenly  there  came 
the  great  joy  of  my  life.  Had  I  been  able  to  tell  my 
experience  to  any,  I  should  have  said  that  my  joy  was 
full,  complete,  but  I  did  not  know. 

As  I  fluttered  around  her  for  the  thousandth  time, 
I  met  one  of  my  own  kind.  For  the  moment  I  was 
indignant.  The  ship  was  mine  by  right  of  discovery. 
Who  else  dare  intrude,  and  by  what  right  ?  And  then 
with  a  sweet,  low  voice  the  new-comer  introduced 
herself.  Oh,  the  exquisite  sound  of  it !  I  flew  to  her 
side,  I  found  her,  she  was  mine.  The  climax  to  my 
joy  was  reached,  it  was  love  !  First  hunger,  then  fear  ; 
succeeded  conscious  effort,  sense  of  power  overcoming, 
and  now  love.     The  sea,  the  sky,  the  ship,  the  food, 


I   AI.WAVS  SIIAKKI) 


AW  m;i.ici(iis  mokski.  with 


.-» 


;s 


My  Partner 


383 


the  power  of  unwearied  flight  were  now  all  leading  up 
and  accessory  to  this,  the  greatest  of  all  forces,  over- 
brimming with  delights,  the  all-embracing  joy  of  love. 
Henceforth  our  desires  were  entwined.  Did  I  find  a 
delicious  morsel?  it  was  hers,  mine  the  exquisite 
pleasure  of  seeing  her  enjoy  it.  Did  she  call  me  to  a 
new  treasure  of  food  floating  by  ?  oh,  the  rapture 
of  sharing  it  with  her  !  And  when  a  little  boy  on  the 
deck  of  the  ship,  the  weather  having  moderated  greatly 
said  to  his  mother,  standing  by  :  '  Oh,  look,  mamma! 
I  believe  that  dear  little  bird  has  found  a  wee  wife  ! ' 
I  could  have  screamed  with  delight,  had  it  been  in  my 
power  to  do  so. 

In  due  time  we  tired  of  the  ship,  for  when  the 
breeze  suited,  and  all  her  wings  were  spread  again, 
she  went  steadily,  straightly  forward,  so  fist  too  that 
It  became  irksome  for  us  to  flutter  round  and  round 
her,  as  we  loved  to.  And  besides,  her  company  was 
no  longer  to  us  the  pleasantness  it  had  been  before 
we  became  all  in  all  to  each  other.  Still,  for  long  we 
flew  side  by  side  in  perfect  content,  visiting  many  ships, 
seeing  many  new  faces,  and  always  happy,  for  we  were 
never  afraid.  Our  world  seemed  inhabited  only  by 
friends.  We  skimmed  over  seas  that  teemed  with 
hfe^  under  the  continual  sun  by  day  and  the  tender 
violet  of  :he  sky  by  night,  we  saw  many  new  lands— 
and  sheered  off  from  them— what  needed  we  of  the 
land  ? 

We  lived  and  loved,  and  were  happy  because  we 
did.  Until  there  came  a  day  when  we  both,  having  all 
feelings,  not  to  say  thoughts,  in  common,  had  the  need 
laid  upon  us  to  go  south  again.  We  were  then  trying 
to  be  fond  of  a  great  ship  that  sped,  unrestingly  as  our- 
selves,  through  the  sea  with  an  everlasting  whirlpool 
behind  that  we  did  not  like— I  cannot  say  we  feared 


384 


The  Petrels 


a 


f-n 

«:^ 

Ui 

^- 

.n 

.— N 

£ 

OS 

1^ 

Ul 

llo 

> 

■=« 

t/J 

.:s 

;s 


it.  And  with  one  accord  we  abandoned  our  pleasant 
fluttering  to  and  fro.  Side  by  side  we  stretched  our 
wings  and  made  haste,  as  never  before,  towards  the 
bleak  South,  nor  ever  paused  until  once  more  we  darted 
in  between  those  miglity  walls  of  rock,  sheltering  the 
tiny  nook  where  I  was  born.  As  we  did  so  I  felt  just 
one  doubt  lest  it  should  be  preoccupied,  but  I  need 
not  have  done  so.  It  was  ready  for  us.  My  sweet 
one  crept  in,  I  following  her,  until,  settling  down, 
she  cooed  contentedly,  invitingly,  and  I,  nestling 
bv  her  side,  let  all  things  shp  away  into  deepest 
peace. 

When  I  awoke  my  dear  partner  did  not  stir.  I 
knew,  and,  caressing  her,  hastened  away,  intent  upon 
what  I  understood  as  love's  privilege  to  provide  for 
her.  Out  between  the  rocks  I  darted,  found  what  I 
sought,  and  returned.  It  was  another  added  joy. 
Oh,  I  was  so  happy  !  Of  all  the  delights  I  have  ever 
known — and  my  little  life  has  been  overflowing  with 
them — there  have  been  none  like  this.  I  worked 
incessantly,  untiringly  to  feed  her,  my  patient  love. 
I  did  not  know  why,  nor  could  I  enquire.  But  she 
sat  in  darkness  waiting  for  some  blissful  event,  I  her 
only  sunshine,  her  only  means  of  support,  the  one 
whom  she  trusted,  and  with  reason.  I  could  have 
wished  that  time  to  have  lasted  but  for  her.  I  did 
feel  the  need  of  her  sweet  company  out  upon  the  sea. 
And  yet  I  was  content,  for  I  knew  in  some  strange 
manner  that  all  was  well.  But  when  she  rose  to  meet 
me,  as  one  morning  I  returned  with  full  beak  for  her, 
her  little  velvety  body  swelling  with  conscious  pride, 
and  I  saw  a  strange  gaping  bunch  at  her  side,  I  felt  a 
shock.  Had  I  a  rival  ?  Indeed  I  had,  my  son.  I 
had  no  joy  of  him,  for  I  felt  he  separated  me  from  her. 
She   \xas   all   I   needed,   no   third.     Still,   with  her  I 


Rewarded  at  Last 


385 


laboured  to  feed  him,  to  teach  him,  to  launrh  him  in 
life.  And  at  last  I  was  rewarded,  when,  finding  he 
was  well  able  to  fish  for  himself,  we  two  sped  northward 
again  to  renew  our  happy  journeyings  to  and  fro  upon 
the  lovely  sea. 


CHAPTER    XXVI 


BOOBIES    AND    PENGUINS 

UNLIKE  any  of  the  other  birds  of  which  I  have 
been  writing,  the  subjects  of  the  present  chai)ter 
are  really  not  pelagic,  that  is,  they  are  birds  which 
must  find  a  rest  for  the  soles  of  their  feet  upon  some- 
thing hard  every  night,  preferably  at  their  proper  homes, 
although  that  is  sometimes  impossible.  An  almost  in- 
vidious selection  has  now  to  be  made,  but  one  entirely 
necessary,  since  the  varieties  of  such  birds  are  very 
numerous.  And  I  have  endeavoured  to  surmount  the 
ditficulty  by  only  taking  those  that  are  fairly  famihar 
to  sailors  in  out-of-the-way  parts  of  the  ocean,  and 
almost  unknown  to  the  majority  of  land<folk 

First  in  my  mind  comes  the  Booby,  which  is  a 
species  of  gannet,  but  varying  in  several  important 
particulars  from  the  pretty,  well-known  gannets  of 
our  own  coasts.  It  has  a  reputation  for  stupidity 
whicli  I  feel  is  hardly  deserved,  and  is  really  only  given 
upon  very  slight  grounds.  But  in  consequence  of  this 
reputation  it  has  obtained  this  somewhat  opprobrious 
name,  first  by  the  Spanish  seamen  who,  trading  in 
the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  made  its  acquaintance,  and  con- 
ceiving but  a  low  idea  of  its  intelligence  called  it '  Bobo  ' 
or  Stupid  ;  hence  our  word  Booby,  both  words  deriving 
from  the  same  root. 

Perhaps  the  sole  reason  for  the  idea  of  the  poor 

3bvj 


Stupidity  ? 


387 


l)ird's   stupidity   arises   from    the    fact    that   when    it 
ahglits  upon  any  portion  of  a   ship,  as  it  often  does 
in  the  vicniity  of  its  home,  it  will  sit  still  and  allow 
Itself  to  be  taken,  although  it  has  only  to  tumble  off 
Its  perch  to  be  free  and  far  out  of  the  reach  of  the 
Kuraudmg  hand  of  the  sailor,     l.at  there  it  sits,  with 
Its  full  dark  eye  staring  full  at  its  enemy,  apparentlv 
hypnotised    into    insensibility,    and    only   when    it    is 
grasped  and  its  doom  scaled  does  it  begin  to  struggle 
vainly  to  escape.     Really  the  reason  for  this  immc.bmtv 
IS  fairly  obvious,  althougli  I  have  never  suen  it  statij. 
Of  all  the  sea-birds  there  are  none  tliat  toil  so  tre- 
mendously  at   their    business  of  food-getting  as    the 
gannets,  and  the  Booby  is  no  exception  to  the  rule 
I  he  big,  somewhat  ungainly  bird,  with  his  long  straight 
htak  and  his  gawky  wings  flapping  heavily  and  con- 
tinuously, IS,  as  I  have  said,  a  fairly  well-known  object 
"If    our    north-eastern    coasts,    and    most    observant 
\isitors  have  admired  the  wonderful  way  in  which 
while  flying  in  utmost  haste  along  at  a  height  of  over 
.1  hundred  feet,  he  will  suddenly  fold  his  wings  and 
drop,  beak  first,  with  a  tremendous  si)lash  into  the 
Ma,  emerging  almost  immediately  after  with  a  fish  in 
Ins  beak,  and  literally  fighting  his  way  into  the  high 
air  again. 

Now,  no  other  sea-bird,  not  e\-en  the  lively  gull 
'T  the  ungainly  cormorant,  labours  like  this  for  its 
living.  The  poor  Booby  oftentimes  finds  itself  far 
aiield  and  quite  weary,  when  a  tempting  opportunity 
! T  a  perch  presents  itself,  of  which  it  takes  advantage, 
and  having  done  so,  seems  quite  unable  to  exert  itself 
larther  for  some  time,  even  in  the  presence  of  the  most 
imminent  danger  of  capture.  Wliy  it  should  prefer 
the  yards  or  booms  of  a  vessel  to  rest  upon  to  the  sea 
it  such  times  is  a  thing  I  do  not  i)retend  to  understand. 


^\ 


;s 


388      Boobies  and  Penguins 

but  the  fact  is  that  it  (.hn'S,  do  ^o  in  prcfi-rcnce  to  re-ting 
on  tlir  water  ;  a  thing  I  never  remember  to  have  seen 
one  dding. 

;"here  is  perhaps  anotlier  and  more  convincing 
reason  for  the  l'>(i()b\'s  apparent  stupidity.  The  lonely 
islets  and  cavs  which  it  frecpients  are  seldom  visited 
bv  man.  Being  naturally  of  a  conliding  nature,  and 
getting  little  opportunity  of  learning  how  unsafe  it  is 
to  place  any  confidence  in  the  lords  of  creation,  it  is 
unprepared  for  the  danger  of  capture  wliicli  attends 
it  upon  alighting  upon  any  pi  ice  to  whi(  h  he  has 
convenient  access.  And  why  sailors  should  take  the 
poor  birds  I  do  not  know,  except  that  the  temptation 
to  lay  hold  upon  a  bird  that  is  unable  or  unwilling  to 
fly  away  is  almost  irresistible  to  most  men.  For  the 
Booby,  like  all  sea-birds,  is  anything  but  good  eating, 
being  rank,  tough,  and  oily  ;  while  as  a  pet  he  is  of  no 
use  at  all.  And  I  am  ashamed  to  say  that  all  I  have 
ever  seen  taken  on  board  ship  were  presently,  after  a 
period  of  maltreatment,  Hung  overboard,  a  piece  of 
cruel  waste  for  which  there  can  be  no  possible  excuse. 

My  first  acquaintance  with  the  Booby  dates  back 
to  my  first  voyage,  as  a  small  boy  in  my  twelfth  year. 
Of  course,  I  do  not  know  the  exact  part  of  the  sea  in 
which  we  were  cruising,  but  I  know  that  we  were  at  rio 
very  great  distance  fmm  land,  for  we  were  sailing — not 
steaming — from  Demer.ira  to  Santa  Ana  in  the  Mexican 
Gulf.  And  one  night,  being  becalmed,  one  of  the  men 
pointed  out  to  me  a  dark  object  on  the  cat-head  clearly 
outlined  against  the  moonbeams  on  the  sea.  I  don't 
know  why,  but  in  those  days  any  item  of  information 
conveyed  to  me  in  a  whisper  with  an  air  of  mystery 
always  made  my  heart  pump  furiously  ;  and  my  feeling, 
though  perhaps  not  exactly  fear,  was  not  at  all  pleasant 
as  Joe  stole  away  from  my  side  towards  that  dark 


A  Booby  Farm 


7R 


-g 


ov.resrence  on  the  cat-licad.  I  hoiJ  my  breath  as  lie 
'  ivpt  nearer  to  it,  and  was  snduealy  relieved  to  hear 
.1  loud  squawking,  almost  like  that  of  a  suddenly  irri- 
tated parrot.  Joe  returned  to  me,  exhibiting  to  my 
d.  lighted  gaze  a  large  wliite  bird  pitifully  struggling 
t..  be  free.  Then  the  otiier  men  came  a.ound,  and 
tliere  was  a  long  and  voluble  coiuersation  about  the 
l-ird,  (.f  which  I  wearied  and  went  away  to  sl.jep.  When 
I  again  saw  the  captive  it  had  been  skinned,  but  to 
my  astomsiiment  nothing  was  done  with  either  skin 
or  carcase-after  a  short  time  they  were  both  flung 
overboard. 

Less  than  three  months  afterwards,  in  another  ship, 
I  awoke  one  morning,  to  find  by  the  strange  sounds 
and  motions  made  by  the  vessel  that  she  had  run 
asliore,  and  when  morning  dawned  I  saw  that  many 
i^oobies  and  men-of-war  or  frigate  birds  were  hovering 
•'bout  us,  the  former  filling  the  air  with  their  shnU 
•Ties,  and  the  latter  calmly  and  apparently  contemp- 
tiKHisly  watrliing  us.     Two  days  after  we  all  left  the 
wrecked  vessel  (she  was  I>roken  in  half)  for  good,  and 
landing  upon  the  little  sandy  cay  which  formed  the 
apex  of  the  vast  coral  reef  uj)on  which  our  ship  had 
I),  en  wrecked,  we  found  almost  the  whole  sandy  area 
in  possession  of  these  birds,  Boobies.     They  did  not 
venture  over  to  the  rocky  side,  for  reasons  which  will 
appear  later.     It  was  a  most  surprising  sight  to  us 
to  me  especially,  a  city-bred  boy,  to  see  the  wide  beach 
'  overcd  with  \-ociferous  birds  sitting  on  eggs  lying  in 
Mnall  depivisi(nis  in  the  sand,   or  going  to  and  fro 
.  ither  waddling  or  on  the  wing,  but  none  evincing  the 
^lightest  tear  of  us.     It  was  an  entirely  new  sensation 
to  have  a  bird  as  big  as  a  duck,  but  with  tvMce  the 
wing-spread,    com-    llajiping    busily    along    and    not 
trouble  to  avoid  one  ;    indeed,  I  was  knocked  down 


•  > 


390      BoLJies  and  Penguins 

twice,  and  afterwards  opprnbriou^ly  assailed  by  the 
infuriated  bird  for  gettiiii^  in  l)fr  way  when  she  was 
hurrying  b.u  k  to  her  eggs.     Of  (■(Jur^e  the  eggs  were 
a  great   treat    to   us— wiini   did  (■\-,r  a  sailor,   rightly 
constituted,  feel  indiflc  rent  to  the  --i'^ht  of  ah  egg  ?  — 
and  we  started  to  gather  thein.  (anlrr,s  of  the  feelings 
of  the  luolher  Hoohies.      iait  il  thrv  l.ieked  sense  tlnv 
certaiidy  did  not  want  coinage,  aii.l  thn-e  of  us  who 
had   not    sead)oots  on,  st)on  found    th.it  a  trouser-Kg 
was  but  poor  j)rotection  against  a  driving  blow  from 
a  Bv)oby's  be.ik.     So  the  majority  of  ns  retired  to  look 
for  sticks  (of  course  no  mu  ii  ricliciihjusly  sentimental 
notions    weighed    with    us    as    consideration    for    the 
feelings  of  the  parent  birds),  and  me.inwhile  the  din 
was  deafening.     There  were  many  thou:,ands  of  bird>, 
and  every  one  of  them  >eeineu  to  be  protesting  with 
all  the  power  of  his  or  her  lungs  against  this  piratical 
invasion  of  a  peaceful  and  inoflensive  colony.     I  know 
that  I  felt  as  if  I  should  never  recover  my  hearing  again. 
Presently,  having  armed  ourselves  with  stic  ks,  we 
returned  to  the  charge,  and  gathered  many  eggs  ;    at 
least  I  say  we,  but  I  remember  that  being  barefooted 
I  merely  hovered  on  the  outskirts  of  the  war,  and  bore 
the  eggs  away  as  others  collected  them  whose  feet  were 
better  protected  against  the  Boobies'  beaks  than  mine. 
I  am  sorry  to  say  that  in  the  struggle  for  t'le  possession 
of  those  eggs  many  of  the  protesting  Boobies  were 
killed.     Their    bodies    were    brought    into   camp   and 
flung  down,  a  doleful  heap,  for  some  one  to  prepare 
for  eating.     But  as  the  helots  who  were  invited  with 
many  unnecessary  sea-compliments  to  undertake  tlie 
task  sensibly  observed,    '  We've  got   plenty  of  good 
grub,   an'   there's   plenty  more   for   the   taking,   why 
bother   about   getting   meat   ready   that   nobody  will 
eat  ? '     So  there  was  mme  waste.     And  even  the  eggs, 


Awakening   Morn 


39^ 


f,'.ithcrer1  with  so  much  IrKs  of  lif^  (to  tlic  niotlur^), 
were  hardlv  citahle  to  nuTi  who  could  g.'t  other  and 
inoa'  tasteful  food,  as  wf  certainlv  could  then.  Tlicro 
were  (>,i;gs  on  the  island,  d.licious,  plentiful,  lar^e,  hut 
they  hclouf^r  to  another  story.  Only  the  honour  of 
hnding  tiiem  was  mine,  ,'nd  mine  alone. 

Next  mornini,'  I  was    iwake  and  astir  before  day- 
break,   not    because    I    then    loved   eaily    rising,    but 
because  my  sleeping-place  was  so  miserably   un'com- 
fortable  tiiat  I  laid  no  minute  longer  than  I  could  ludp. 
Wiio  would,  wedged  into  a  long  row  of  men,  as  sardines 
he  m  a  box,  with  a  lumj)  of  coral  the  bigness  of  a  man's 
Ii.  id  in  the  middle  of  on-'s  back,  by  no  means  get-at- 
able  because  of  the  long  cloth  of  canvas  over  it  held 
down  by  the  bodies  aforesaid.     So  I  rose  and  strayed 
along  the  beach,  watching  the  tremulous  shadings  of 
coming  light  in  the  sky,  and  listening  to  the  murmur 
of  the  wavelets  against  the  sand  and  the  low  beginnings 
of    conversation    among    the    birds.     And    then   my 
attention  was  divided  between  the  glory  of  the  new 
day,  a  never-ceasing  source  of  delight  in  the  tropics, 
and  the  strange  sight  afforded  by  the  host  of  bus/ 
birds,  parents  present  and  prospective.     As  it  grew 
lighter  their  cack.ng  grew  louder,  until,  when  the  full 
day   swung    like    a    fanfaronade   of    silver    trumpets 
across  the  waiting  concave  o/  the  heavens,  they  all 
burst    into   a   deafening   chorus   of   cries,   apropos  of 
nothing  as  far  as  I  could  see.     Of  me  standing  close 
before  them  tliey  took  not  the  slightest  heed.     Those 
witli  young  ones  hatched  poked  at  and  preened  them 
with  their  long  beaks,  preparatory  to  leaving  them, 
and  those  with  eggs  only  just  laid  took  a  parting  glance 
or  so  at  tliem,   preened  themselves,  and  flew— clean 
over  my  head,  with  rapidly  jerking  wings  towards  their 
free  and  common  hunting-ground,  the  teeming  sea. 


392      Boobies  and  Penguins 


So 


-.0 

OS 

••-c 

*  • 


I  was  so  fascinated  by  tlie  busy  scene  that  for  long  I 
did  not  stir,  and  so  was  able  to  witness  the  return  of 
some  of  the  mothers,  who  had  been  almost  immediately 
successful,  with  quite  large  fish  m  their  mouths,  which, 
dropping  anjoiij;  their  screaming  young,  they  proceeded 
to  distribute,  at  the  same  time  keejing  a  bright  look-out 
upon  those  conscienceless,  lazy  marauders  who  con- 
tinually endeavoured  to  steal. 

In  an  hour  after  full  day  tlicy  were  practically  all 
away,  although,  as  I  have  said,  occasional  stragglers, 
having  been  rewarded  witli  an  early  catch,  came 
dropping  in  with  their  prizes  for  their  families.  Then 
came  my  shipmates,  bent  on  egg-collecting,  but  I  was 
glad  to  see  that  now  they  were  a  little  more  discrim- 
inating than  on  the  previous  day.  They  examined 
the  eggs  to  see  whetlier  they  were  edih'e  or  not,  and 
v""n  they  found  a  couple  of  helpless  nfledged  ones 
ih  .,  hollow,  they  merely  gave  tliem  momentary  dis- 
comfort by  *  king  them  up  and  e.xamming  them  ; 
they  did  tliem  no  harm.  Toget'.ier  we  took  a  thorough 
survey  of  the  great  space  occupied  by  the  nesting 
Boobies,  and  admired  the  business-like  way  in  which 
the  parents  provided  for  the  needs  of  their  offspring, 
also  the  ease  with  which  the  food  was  obtained.  The 
sea  over  and  adjacent  to  the  reefs  literally  swarmed 
with  surface-fish  just  of  a  convenient  size  for  the  birds 
to  handle,  a. id  they,  the  birds,  never  seemed  to  flag 
in  their  earnest  endeavour  to  get  their  living  and 
provide  for  those  dear  to  them.  Of  course  they  were 
all  very  much  alike,  but  after  a  time  of  careful  watching 
I  was  able  to  single  out  those  who  wer  .nost  energetic, 
finding  that  even  here,  where  inst  Lt  ruled,  there 
were  degrees  in  industry  as  well  as  among  men. 

The  mal"  birds  had  a  reservation  of  their  own,  and 
seemed  to  be  held  in  considerable  disfavour  by  both 


The  Pirate 


393 


hatcliing  and  nursing  birds,  as  if  they  had  contracted 
themselves  out  of  any  right  to  occupy  the  same  space. 
They  certainly  did  nothing  towards  the  maintenance 
of    th.;   families,    being   apparently    fully   occupied   in 
providing  for  their  own  clamorous  needs.     The  mother 
birds  had  their  domestic  cares  to  attend  to  as  well  as 
the  providing,  which  led  me  to  think  more  than  scorn- 
fully of  the   male   Booby  as  regarded   his  affections, 
especially  comparing  him  with  the  deep-sea  birds  of 
my  acquaintance,  but  rath  r  highly  as  regarded  his 
iniquitous   cunning,    whicli   certainly   did   not   justify 
his  contemptuous  name.     But  there' was  one  recurring 
circumstance  which  I  continually  noted,  about  which 
I  have  some  trouble.     It  does  not  appear  very  clear 
whether  I  should  mention  it  here  or  in  a  later  article, 
but  I  do  not  see  how  I  am  to  do  the  Booby  full  justice 
unless  I  make  some  allusion  to  it  at  present,  and  so  I 
fear  I  must  do  so  even  at  Mie  peril  of  repeating  myself 
later  on.     I   noticed   repeatedly   that   as   the  mother 
Ijirds  were  returning  at  ^ull  speed  to  their  nests  with 
a  load  of  food  (I  say  *  nests  ',  although,  as  I  have  noted, 
the  eggs  and  young  ones  just  lay  on  the  open  sand), 
they  often  evinced  signs  of  great  alarm,  and  dodged 
about  at  full  speed,  sometimes  rushing  right  out  to 
sea  again. 

The  reason  was  evident.  High  above  the  busy 
birds  fishing  there  hovered  black  wide-winged  birds, 
whose  province  it  was  apparently  to  live  upon  the 
labours  of  others.  And  when  they  saw  a  homeward- 
t)ound  bird  Happing  heavily  towards  the  land,  one  of 
them  would  by  easy  stages,  yet  with  amazing  celerity, 
<lcscend  from  his  lofty  plane,  drawing  nearer  and 
nearer  to  the  labouring  Booby  like  a  kestrel  descending 
upon  a  pigeon,  but  in  far  more  leisurely  fashion,  as 
if  perfectly  confident  of  success. 


a 


;s 


394      Boobies   and   Penguins 

Till'  uiiliajipy  matron,  furcsicing  tlic  sacrifice  of 
luT  toil  and  her  llcd.^elini^'s'  hunger,  would  strain  every 
nerve,  lier  an.gular  wini^s  working  furiously  and  her 
whole  body  trembling  with  evident  anxiety,  in  striking 
contrast  to  the  calm  fateful  approach  of  the  black 
descending  shadow.  But  dodge  as  the  Booby  might, 
exert  hei-elf  as  she  would,  there  would  come  a  time 
when,  like  a  thunderl)()lt,  the  ho\-ering  thief  would 
descend,  his  wings  nearly  closed  and  his  tail  wide- 
spread. Then,  alas  !  poor  Pxxihy,  there  was  nought 
that  she  cinild  do  but  drop  her  tre;.  lire  and  tlec  for 
her  life.  And  the  graceful  villain  with  one  great  swoop 
would  catch  the  lish  ere  it  touched  the  water,  and  soar 
skyward  again  unconcernedly,  as  if  it  was  part  of  the 
appointed  scheme  of  things  that  Booby  should  toil  and 
he  should  calmly  reap  the  fruit  of  that  toil.  Booby 
meanwhile  was  scouring  the  ^ea  again  in  search  of 
the  much-needed  meal  for  her  family,  and  with  who 
knows  what  ever-springing  hope  that  next  journey 
she  might  evade  the  ravishcrs  of  her  little  ones'  food. 

Such  a  sketch  as  I  have  endeavoured  to  give  of 
the  life  of  the  Booby  may  be  accepted  as  applicable 
to  all  the<e  birds  wherever  they  live.  They  are  never 
to  be  seen  very  far  from  land  and  never  exterior  to 
the  troj)i(  s,  lor  warm  weather  is  a  necessity  to  them. 
Their  homely  virtues,  as  will  be  seen,  are  many,  if  their 
beauty  and  intelligence  cannot  be  rated  very  high. 
And,  principally  I  think  from  a  fellow-feeling  for 
common-place  folk,  I  have  dared  to  strain  a  point, 
and  include  the  essentially  homely  Booby  in  this 
record  of  the  statelier  deni.^ens  of  the  deep-sea  spaces 
to  which  truly  it  does  not  belong,  but  still  cannot  be 
reckoned  as  one  of  the  familiar  sea-birds  to  any  others 
but  sailors.  And  for  reasons  which  I  am  tired  of 
reiterating,  even  sailors,  by  reason  of  the  displacement 


Miscellaneous 


395 


of  sails  by  steam,  will  soon  as  a  class  know  the  fu^sv 
home!/  Booby  no  more. 

About    the   et   cctcras   I    ha^•e    mv   doubts.      One 
class   of    birds,    uluch    I    do     not    possess   sufTuic-nt 
acquamtance    with   to   make    them    the    subject    of  a 
separate  chapter,  I  am  leaving  to  the  end  of  this  chapter 
1  allude  to  tliat  curi-.us  tribe,  tlic  Penguins.     But  of 
other  truly  deep-sea  birds  there  are  really  none      Tlie 
great  gull  tribe  in  any  of  its  varieties  nexer  venture 
far  from  land  in  the  comparative  sense,   the  petrels 
deserved  (and  have  ^ot)  a  section  to  themselves     Even 
essentially  land  birds  are  often  found  at  tremendous 
o.stances  from  tlie  shore,  having  been  whirled  away 
most  unwillingly  from  their  course  while  jotirneving 
from    winter   to   summer  lands,    which    would    never 
happen  to  se^-birds  whose  habits  keep  them  in  daily 
touch  with  the  land.     x\ay,  and  I  do  not  think  any 
apology  is  needed  for  introducing  the  matter  here    I 
have  actually  seen,  not  once  but  several  times   ilutter- 
ing  about  a  ship  becalmed  in  tlie  centre  of  the  broad 
Atlantic,  an  ephemeral   butterily.     The  sight  set   all 
hands  a-wonderihg  whence  the  pretty  waif  could  have 
strayed  so  far,  and  some  even  broached  the  idea  that 
the  chrysalis  from  which  it  came  had  lodged  on  board 
m  some  convenient  but  inconspicuous  place,  and  had 
just  been  hatched  out.     But  they  were,  as  I  think 
very   properly  laughed   out   of  court.     In   mid-ocean 
too    I  have  seen,  and  that  where  even  the  strenuous 
gulls  did  not  appear,  a  little  flight  of  swallows  board  the 
saip    as  a  haven  of  rest  in  the  midst  of  the  wide  and 
o  them  inhospitable  .ea.     I  shall  not  soon  or  easily 
forget    how,    coming    weary    and    hungry   from    the 
wiieel  one   morning  at   2  a.m.,  I  went  to  the  bread- 
barge,    which    hung   from   a    b.ani    in    the    forecastle 
tor  fear  of  the  rats  which  swarmed  amo:  (r  us.  and  found 


u2 


s 


396      Boobies  and  Penguins 

perched  along  its  edge  a  dozen  tiny  birds.  I  glared 
at  them,  disbelic\in^  my  siglit  for  a  moment,  then 
reacliing  out  I  took  one  in  my  hand,  and  found  that 
it  was  a  tired-out  little  swift  that  had  thus  taken 
refuge  among  us,  and  the  fact  moved  me  strangely. 

Many  such  waif-visitors  I  have  seen  and  in  many 
seas,  but  most  pathetic  of  all  I  think  was  one  during 
a  strong  monsoon  in  the  China  Sea.  The  sturdy  ship 
under  a  heavy  press  of  canvas  was  striving  to  get 
across  to  M.inilla  from  Hong  Kong.  It  was  a  bleak 
dismal  day,  and  I  stood  at  the  wheel,  my  whole  atten- 
tion taken  up  with  the  object  of  keepii.g  the  plunging 
vessel  as  near  the  wind  as  pos  hie  w.'thout  shaking 
a  shred  of  her  straining  canvas  ;  when  suddenly  I 
became  aware  of  a  large  bird  that,  with  heavily- 
flapping  wings,  was  striving  hard  to  get  on  board, 
yet  for  some  obscure  reason  was  afraid  to  trust  itself 
to  windward,  lest,  apparently,  it  should  lose  command 
of  itself  and  be  blown  ag.iinst  sometliing  that  would 
do  it  injury.  For  over  an  hour  I  watched  its  painful 
labours  alone,  for  the  second  mate  was  leaning  over 
tlie  break  of  the  poop  in  deep  meditation,  and  it  was 
impossible  under  sea  etiquette  that  I  should  call  him. 
I  cannot  tell  you  how  I  suffered  for  that  poor  bird. 
He  came  bO  close  that  I  knew  him  for  a  stork — I  saw 
his  long  neck  and  beak,  and  his  slender  legs  tucked 
closely  beneath  him.  And  I  did  want  him  safe.  I 
almost  prayed  for  his  deliverance,  he  made  such  a 
gallant  liglit  for  life.  But  alas  !  he  would  not  trust 
himself  to  windward,  he  would  persist  in  ( t)ming  up 
under  the  lee  (piarter,  where  the  eddy  from  the  spanker 
poured  down  strongly  enough  to  sweep  away  the  most 
powerfully  winged  bird  that  ever  flew.  I  saw  him 
grow  weaker  and  wcakc! ,  still  fighting  vainly  against 
overwhelming  odds,  and  at  last  in  one  of  his  swoopings 


A   Quaint  Sea'Citizen        397 

to  leeward  that  fatal  down-drau-ht  from  the  spanker 
caught  him,  aiul  whirled  liim,  a  di^hrwlled  heap  of 
featliers,  into  the  foaming  sea  sweejjing  past,  and  lie 
was  gone.  I  felt  as  if  I  had  been  watcliing  the  i)ainful 
fighting  for  life  of  a  dear  friend,  and  I  was  scarcely 
comforted,  when,  on  going  into  the  gloomy  forecastle 
at  eight  bells,  I  fonnd  a  fluffy-feathered  goat-sucker 
perched  on  the  edge  of  my  bunk,  who  opened  the  wide 
gape  of  his  mcnith  at  me,  as  I  tenderly  took  him, 
in  voiceless  supi)lication  to  spare  his  feeble  life.  Need 
I  say  that  his  request  was  granted  ?  I  fed  him  on 
cockroaches  (we  had  plenty  of  those),  and  on  entering 
Ca\-ite  Bay  I  let  him  go,  feeling  sure  he  would  soon 
find  a  home. 

^  But  this  is  a  digression  hardly  warranted  by  the 
subject.     It  is  very  necessary  on  account  of  space  to 
pass  on  to  the  quaintest  of  all  the  feathered  Deep-Sea 
People  really  entitled  to  the  name,  although  they  are 
never  found  at  any  great  distance  (as  sailors  count 
distance)  from  the  shore  or  islands  of  ice.     I  allude 
to  the  Penguins.   Their  nearest  counterparts  in  northern 
seas  are  the  auks  ;    but  the  latter  are  able  to  fly,  the 
Penguin   is  not.     It  is  really  a  sort  of  compromise, 
to  all  appearance,  between  a  seal  and  a  bird,  and  but 
for  the  fact  that  the  Creator  has  planted  it  in  the 
most   lonely  and   inhospitable   portion   of   the   round 
world,    would    certainly   long   ago   have   been    exter- 
minated.    This  sad  fate  has  befallen  the  great  auk, 
whose  eggs  coming  now  and  then  into  auction-rooms 
command    such    falnilous    prices.     It    unfortunately 
inhabited   places   comparati\cly  easy   of  access,   and 
consequently,  txiough  it  was  of  little  value  commercially 
and  of  iione  at  all  as  food,  it  very  soon  became  extinct 
when  rapacious  man  extended  his  sway  to  the  fringe 
of  the  Arctic  Ocean. 


or 

U4 


398      Boobies  and  Penguins 

The  Penguin,  however,  has  been  preserved  from 
this  fate,  because  the  Antarctic  regions  offer  httle  or 
no  inducement  to  searciiers  after  wealth  to  come  to 
them.  And  in  the  days  when  seal-oil  was  valuable, 
and  it  was  wortli  while  to  make  expeditions  to  the 
barren  shores  of  Antarctic  islands  in  order  to  colle<t 
it,  the  Penguins  were  only  molested  for  edible  purposes, 
for  they  are  just  edible,  with  considerable  culinary 
manipulation.  There  are  several  kinds  of  Pen-;uins, 
varying  in  size  from  tlie  dimiiuitive  Pygmy  or  Eudvptila 
minor  of  a  few  inches  high,  to  the  Emperor  Penguin  of 
as  many  feet.  Most  good  museums  furnish  ex.imples. 
But  all  possess  the  same  general  characteristics. 
First,  their  legs  being  very  .^hort  and  thick,  and  their 
webbed  feet  wide  and  strong,  they  '  sit  up,'  as  it  were. 
It  is  really  standmg  up  like  a  duck  stretching  its 
wings,  but  almost  perpendicularly.  And  this  is  their 
norma]  pose.  They  carry  their  heads,  with  short, 
pointed  beaks,  very  erect,  and  their  flippers,  for  the 
wing  in  these  birds  is  notliing  but  a  seal  flipper  covered 
with  feathers  instead  of  fur,  hanging  down  in  a  ludi- 
crously pathetic  and  heli)less  manner.  Sir  Joim 
Narborough,  an  old  navigator  whose  voyages  make 
most  entertaining  reading,  says  that  their  appearance 
as  he  first  saw  them  gazing  at  him  from  their  rocky 
ledges  was  that  of  rows  of  school  children  standing 
very  quiet  with  little  white  pinafores  on.  This  because 
the  closely  set  feathers  on  their  breasts  are  white, 
with  tinges  of  beautiful  shades  of  purple  and  gold 
around  the  edges  in  the  Emperors. 

Their  movements  on  shore  are  almost  as  ungainly 
as  those  of  a  seal ;  compared  with  them  a  duck  or 
goose  glides  along  with  stately  grace.  For  their  land 
promenades  their  flippers  are  perfectly  useless,  dangling 
by  their  sides  as  if  broken.     Why  they  do  not  topple 


■niK   PK\(;il.\s  i-.Ay.EU  AT   m.M    yuoy 


I    I.'' I  ir  !!.•'■ 


■\I   TlIK   U(K"KY 


a 

.  to 

or 


«3; 

1^ 


5« 


Careful  Parents 


399 


over  I  cannot  think,  although  their  webbod  feet  are 
so  large  and  wide,  for  their  centre  of  gravity  certainly 
dors  fall  far  without  their  bases,  and  great  muscular 
effort  must  be  necessary  in  order  thai  the  erect  position 
may    be    preserved.       Yet    tliey    manage    to    climb 
witii  astounding    celerity  the    almost  unscaleable    icy 
cliffs  of  Antarctica,  and  may  be  seen  ranged  along  the 
narrow  rock-ledges  in  rows  like  vases  on  the  slielves  of 
a  china-dealer's  sliop,  who  has  no  idea  of  pictun  ^quely 
arranging  his  wares.     In   places   where   materials   for 
lusts  are  to  be  found  they  build  th(>m  or  lay  them 
down  (there  is  little  < onstructix-c  work  possible),  but 
where  no  vegetation  is  to  be  found,  they  just  choose 
A  -light  hollow  and  tli-re  deposit  two  eggs,  one  always 
larger  than   the   other,   which   has  been   supposed   to 
denote  difference  of  sex.     If  so,  how  evenly  the  se.xes 
must  be  balanced  !     What  has  puzzled  many  southern 
\nvagers  is  the  way  in  which  the  hen  Penguin,  wlien 
disturbed   and   fearful  for  her  eggs,   will   manage   to 
convey  one  of  them  away.     There  is  a  little  hollow- 
ing of  tlie  body  just  in  front  of  the  space  between  the 
li^gs,  and  in  this  it  is  supposed  the  mother  carries  the 
ei^g,  but  how  she  holds  it  there  is  a  mystery. 

The  Penguin  in  all  his  varieties  has  a  very  wide 
range.  All  round  the  southern  hemisphere,  and  as 
far  north  as  the  Galapagos  Islands  on  the  South  Ameri- 
can off-shore  grounds.  Penguins  are  to  be  found,  and 
Hartwig  says  that  Humboldt's  Penguin,  \v-hich  is 
frccjuently  found  in  Callao  liay,  is  made  a  household 
pet  of  by  the  Peruvians,  who  call  it  the  pajaro  mno. 
This  he  translates  '  little  darling  bird,'  but  the  good 
professor's  Spanish  is  weak  ;  it  only  means  '  baby-boy 
bird.'  The  noble  Castellano  is  splendidly  furnished 
with  terms  of  endearment.  At  one  time  it  seemed  as 
if   the    Penguin    would    be   exterminated   on    all   the 


3 


=1: 


:^*. 


400         BoODies  and  Penguins 

tcmixTately  situistod  islands,  when  once  it  was  dis- 
covtivd  that  they  wrn>  so  fat  tliat  they  would  yield 
a  crilain  iinantity  of  saleable  oil.  Hut  I  lejoieo  to  say 
that  tlie  (l,m:,'er  no  lonf,'er  exists.  On  KerLMielen,  the 
Cro/ets,  the  Sol  'h  Shetlands.  and  •^uch  places,  awav 
down  to  Antarctica,  thi,'  poor  homely  Penguin  has  our 
Ic.ive  TO  live  muI  be  'lappv  in  that  state  of  life  unto 
which  it  has  eased  (iod  to  call  1  nn.  And  this  is 
the  mor(>  to  be  de  ired.  because  in  the  remote  regions 
of  the  south  the  Penguin  is  redly  the  only  represen- 
tative ef  land  fauna.  ICven  tlie  seals  are  very  few. 
But  tlie  Penguin  congregat  s  in  his  thousands,  un- 
gainly, mirth-  provoking  in  ap[)earance,  but  happ\ , 
and  giving  to  those  desolate  regions  the  one  touch 
o^  lite  tl  it  they  need  to  kcip  them  from  becoi.i- 
ing,  in  fact  as  well  as  in  appearance,  a  land  of 
d.ath. 

Now  in  the  ftfegoing  I  have  spoken,  it  maybe 
thougll^  somewhat  too  -hghtingly  of  one  of  G-  d's  crea- 
tures because  of  its  laiighter-pruvoking  appearance. 
Why  should  our  ri-ible  faculties  be  excited  by  any 
creature  perfe(-tly  htted  by  its  lev  g  nd  all-wise 
Cre.itor  for  its  life-work  ?  I  do  not  excuse  uie  1  \ughter, 
I  only  note  it,  and  quite  admit  that  to  a  spauow,  for 
instance,  if  he  possessed  the  power  of  laughter,  a  man 
may  be  the  most  ludicrous  figure  on  earth,  especially 
in  a  top-hat  and  holding  up  an  umbrella.  But  though 
I  plead  guilty  to  having  laughed  at  the  Penguin,  I 
have  atoned.  I  have  set  1  him  in  the  water,  and  I 
laughed  no  longe-.  For  that  top-heavy  body,  that 
pathetically  peering  head,  those  feeble-looking  dippers 
had  all  come  int'    play. 

The  first  time  I  really  knew  the  Pcrguin  for  what 
he  really  is  was  when,  making  a  composite  great 
circle    track   to   New   Zealand,   we   reached   latitude 


A  Ballasted  Bird 


401 


54    ■^■,  aid,  wonder  of  wondr-rs,  it  fell  a  ralrr     Rotwoon 
uv.'ve  noon  and  two  I  wns  ;,t  the  wheel,  hstle^s  and 
rold    and  f^apin.;  all  around  n,e  at  soa  and  sky.  when 
suddenly  a    I'en.'.nn    pr.pp.-d   up  alongside,   ^.avo   one 
w.de-eyed  star.,  at  the  unfanuiur  .|„p.  ,.nd  disappeared 
Hut  he  was  not  satisfed.      Ihn      times  he  came  ba.k 
o  look,  and  so  clear  was  tlie  water  that  I  could  follow 
ns  eve^^^  movement   hc^neath   it,    note   his  exceedmg 
beauty   and   ^^race,    and-mentallv   apologise   to   hirn 
for   ever   havmg   thought    him    ungainK-   or  ludicrous 
m  a,.y  way      I  should  ..dd  lluit  at  this  time  we  were 
certamlv  about   a   thousand   m.les   from   the   nearest 
land,   whuh  ,,.Thaps  will  justify  my  inclusion  of  the 
Deefs"-   ""!""' '^     ^^^    honourable  "company    of    the 

The   food  of  the   Penguin   ,s  of  course  f^sh.  with 
which    those    remote    seas    are    teennng.     And    this 
exnla.ns   h,s   amazing   agility   under   water,   for   who 
wou  d  s.  ue  the  living  hsh  in  hi-  native  element  must 
needs  move  with  a  rapidity  and  a  sinuous  grace,  to 
uh.ch  the  most  splendid  efforts  of  a  human  athlete 
are  very .  very  si.  ,w  and  clumsy  indeed.     But  like  most 
of  the  seals,  and  for  probably  tl.^  same  hidden  digestive 
reasons,  the  Penguin  thmks  well  to  burden  his  belly 
u.th  boulders.     Sn  James  Ross  notes  that  in  the  sto- 
mac.a  of  one  of  them  he  found  ten  pounds  weight  of 
quarts  granite,  and  trap.     Well,  the  poor  thing  needs, 
no  doubt  at  too  frequent!     recurring  times,  something 
to   impart   a   sense   of    fulness   and    stability   to    the 
stomach.     For  that   organ   is  not  only  of  huge  size 
.n  proportion  to  the  build  of  the  bird,  but  has.  in  com- 
mon w.thtne  seals  and  sharks,  ay,  the  majority  of 
the  Deep-Sea  People,  a  flood  of  digestive  juices  capable 
of  dealing  almost  (as  a  sailor  would  say)  with  scupper 


402         Boobies  and  Penguins 

Of  the  domestic  virtues  and  daily  shore  hfe  of  the 
Penguin  I  dare  not  spiak,  as  I  have  no  personal 
knowledge,  and  my  imagination  recoils  at  the  idea  of 
cultivating  the  Lares  and  Penates  on  the  eternally 
ice-bound  shores  of  Antarctica. 


CHAPTER    XXVII 


THE    FRIGATE    BIRD 

T  N  dcalinc,'  witli  this  tli.'  last  of  my  IXrp-S-a  People, 
1    I  liave  unfMitun  itcly  to  cut  am.ss,  I  will  not  say 
many  prevailing'  i.lras,  sine-  the  s.ihjoct  is  not  popu- 
irly  known,  but  manv  (iua>i-snrnt.tic  kUms  concerning 
i'ln      It   IS  now  many  years  since  I   read  in  a  book 
l'\-   Mielulet,  the   French  naturalist,  a  long  rhapsody 
on    the    iM-igate    Bird,    most    poetical,    mo^t    beautiful 
in   diction,   but  alas,   as   is  so  comm^^n   with   French 
sMentists,   pure   imagination   from   beginmng   to  end 
witliout  the  lightest  substratum  of  fact.     In  spite  of 
my  youth  at  the  time  and  my  innate  reverence  for  the 
written    word,    especially    in    a    scientific    treatise     I 
knew  that  all   Michelet   said  about   the   Frigate   Bird 
was  wrong  ;    it  would  almost  have  been  hyperbolical 
to  apply  ,t  to  the  wandering  albatross,  whose  powerful 
'liglit   and  endurance  excel   those  of  the   Frigate    or 
Man-of-\V.      Bird,  as  much  as  those  of  the  latter  do 
the  powers  of  tlie  sparrow. 

But  the  pity  of  it  is  that,  as  in  so  many  other 
'ciscs,  Miehelet's  absurdities  have  been  perpetuated 
in  our  own  natural  histori(>s  witli  that  serene  faith 
m  a  writer's  integrity  manifc-stcd  by  Reingelder  in 
\ates  s  book,  as  described  by  Kipling  in  his  wonderful 
-tory  of  the  Cerman  flag.  Although  warned  by  his 
'H'nd  repeated) V,  and  his  attention  drawn  to  the 
.  iporme  head  of  the  snake  he  held  in  his  hand,  Rein- 

403 


404 


The   Frigate  Bird 


5  -.iJ 


,-s 


gelder,  secure  in  his  knowledge  of  wliat  Yates  had 
written  of  those  snakes,  and  calm  in  his  faith  in  the 
great  authoritv,  proceeds  to  exa.nine  the  snake  alive. 
He  is  bitten  and  dies,  but  with  his  latest  breath  he 
moans  :  '  Yates  haf  lied  in  brint.'  Very  sad,  but  quite 
understandable.  A  new  series  of  books  will  presently 
deal  with  facts  of  natural  history,  wherein  shall  not 
appear  one  single  statement  based  up.jn  the  wild 
romancings  of  the  ancient  naturalists,  but  all  venlicd 
by  personal  observation,  with  the  names  of  the  authors 
given  for  easy  reference. 

Not  that,  except  in  the  interests  of  truth.,  it  matters 
very  m.uch  'whether  one   speaks  of   the   Man-of-War 
Bird  as  subsisting  on  the  wing  through  life  and  floating 
calmly  over  hundreds  of  leagues  of  ocean  remote  from 
land,   or   whether  he   be   compared   with   the   condor 
of  the  Andes  for  power  of  vision  and  spread  of  wmg, 
or  any  other  tale     hat  might  occur  to  so  essentially 
fanciful  a  raconteur  as  the  romantic  Michelet.     Only 
if  we  are  to  have  facts,  let  *.hem  be  facts  ;    if  fiction, 
let  us  understand  and  enjoy  it  as  such.     The  Frigate 
Bird  is  wonderful  enough  to  excite  all  our  admiration, 
without  one  scrap  of  hction  being  tacked  on  to  him, 
elegant    and   withal    rapacious   enough    to   be    called 
the' eagle  of  the  sea,  altliough  his  size  is  so  small  that 
hawk   would   be    the    better   synonym.     In   common 
with  multitudes  of  other  sailors,  I   have    had  many 
ample    opportunities    of    being    quite    familiar    with 
the  Frigate  Bird,  and  in  what  I  have  to  say  about 
him  I  shall  onlv'  state  that  which  I  know  from  personal 

observation. 

I  f^rst  knew  the  Frigate  Bird  in  the  West  Indies, 
afterwards  about  Ascension,  and  after  th;it  again 
all  over  the  Gulf  of  ^u>vico  and  around  its  sandy 
bays      And  as  I  read  Michelet's  effusion  after  I  had 


Entirely  Predatory 


405 


become  well  acquainted  with  the  bird,  I  was  the  more 
eager  to  substantiate  my  hrs:  observations,  and  by 
enquiry  among  ^eamen,  to  get  reliable  information 
from  others. 

First  of  all,  as  to  the  oceanic  range  of  the  Frigate 
Bird.  Three  natural  history  books  lie  before  me, 
all  ostensibly  based  upon  authentic  information. 
One  speaks  of  ihe  Frigate  Bird  soaring  over  hundreds 
of  leagues  of  ocean,  another  of  its  being  seen  four 
hundred  leagues  from  land,  and  the  third,  of  its  calmly 
rf'sting  on  the  wing  one  hundred  leagues  from  land. 
1  have  never  seen  1  Frigate  Bird  more  than  fifty 
miles  from  shore,  nor  ever  heard  of  one  being  seen  one 
hundred  miles  from  land.  The  latter,  I  am  sure, 
is  about  tlieir  limit,  and  for  the  best  of  all  reasons. 

The  Frigate  Bird  is  essentially  a  pirate,  a  robber, 
who  preys  upon  the  earnings  of  honest  birds.  I  do 
not  mean  to  say  tl;at  he  cannot  fish  at  all  for  himself, 
because  I  have  seen  him  swoop  down  upon  a  tlying-fish 
in  the  air  as  a  hawk  does  upon  a  small  bird  and  carry 
it  off  exultantly.  But  long,  close  watching  has 
convinced  me  that  alone  among  all  the  sea-birds,  the 
Frigate  Bird  is  unable  to  catch  a  fish  under  water 
or  feed  upon  the  water.  That  they  can  swi.n,  their 
webbed  feet  will  prove,  although  the  webs  are  quite 
rudimentary  ;  but  I  never  saw  one  swimming,  nor 
saw  one  so  much  as  touch  the  water. 

And  in  this  there  is  to  my  mind  something  very 
mysterious  and  wonderful.  It  seems  to  me  that 
these  birds  are  really  to  the  sea  wh.at  hawks  are  to 
the  land,  and  this  supposition  is  supported  by  the 
tcstimuny  of  a  gentleman  who  has  studied  them 
very  closely,  Mr.  Palmer,  the  gentleman  who  made 
the  Hon.  Walter  Rothschild's  wonderful  collection 
of   sea-birds    and    their    eggs.     He    records    that    at 


4o6 


The  Frigate  Bird 


.    OS 


I/)  .-5 

-J  <j 

S 


Laysan   he    manv    times    noticed    the    Frigate    Bird.; 
snitcli  a  youni^  one  from  a  nest  and  oat  it.     ScMnctnncs, 
he  ^ays/the  parent  bird  ^vould  give  chase,  but  the 
matter  alwav.  ended  by  one  or  other  of  them  catuig 
the  young  bird.     They  would  even  take  young  birds 
out  of  the  nest  that  were  alm-st  fuh,   fledged.     Now 
this  is  a  truly  diabolic  characteristic,  not  shared  by 
any  other  sea-bird,  and  hardly  to  be  surpassed  by  the 
all-embracing   voracity   and    ferocity   of   the   xailturc. 
There  can,  1  u-in^',  be  but  little  doubt  that  the  Frigate 
Bird  is  a  cl...    r..ation  of  the  pelican,  but  his  habits 
certainly   entitle    him    to    be   called    the    vulture    of 

the  sea.  ,       .        ... 

But  it  is  high  time  that  I  att.mpted  a  description 
of  the  Frigate  Bird,  seeing  that,  altlunigh  of  so  romantic 
and  extraordinary  a  character,  he  is  little  known  to 
the  great  majority  of  readers.  The  b.,dy  of  the  1-ngate 
Bird  then  is,  xvhcn  full  grown,  about  as  large  as  that 
of  a  raven,  but  more  elegantly  shaped,  of  course,  h.r 
its  great  power  of  flight.  Its  colour  is  rusty,  not 
glossy,  black,  in  none  have  I  ever  seen  a  white  feather. 
Moreover,  for  some  reason  I  do  not  pretend  to  athom, 
if  does  not  keep  its  plumage  in  good  order,  the  feathers 
never  Iving  neat  and  sleeked,  as  in  other  sea-birds 

Considering  the  size  of  its  body,  the  wings  of  the 
Frigate  Bird  may  truly  be  call'd  enormous,  but  to 
speak  of  them  as  one  naturalist  of  eminence  dors^ 
as  being  fourteen  feet  from  tip  to  tip  is  just  a  wild 

^.  ,■  T        1 ^        ♦^,>wnr(^H        n        P"r(\lt 


piece  of  exaggeration.  I  h.;>ve  measured  _  a  great 
inany,  but  neNcr  found  one  that  exceeded  six  feet  m 
the  breadth  of  its  pinions,  and  it  would  indeed  be  aii 
extraordinary  specimen  that  attained  to  a  wing-spread 
of  ci-ht  feet:  ILven  those  I  measured  had  the  ends 
of  their  wings  extending  when  h-lded  more  than  half- 
way  down   Che  very  long  tail  and  overlapping  one 


A  Living  Balloon 


407 


another  in  a  particularly  awkward-looking  way,  as 
if  they  were  only  meant  to  be  kept  expanded.  The 
tail  is  a  little  longer  than  the  body,  and  composed 
of  a  few  strong  feathers,  which  the  bird,  when  on  the 
wing,  manipulates  in  a  striking  way  When  hovering 
high  in  air  with  wings  wide-spread  and  motionless, 
the  tail  is  seen  to  divide  in  the  middle,  the  two  halves 
separating  widely  and  closing  again  to  a  point,  exactly 
as  the  blades  of  a  pair  of  scissors  do.  In  fact,  if  I  had 
been  going  to  give  tliis  bird  a  trivial  name  based  upon 
his  most  noticeable  characteristic,  I  think  I  should 
have  called  him  the  '  scissor-bird.'  The  purpose 
served  by  this  peculiar  movement  of  the  tail  is,  I 
think,  obvious  enough  ;  it  is  for  steering  purposes, 
while  the  wings  remain  iwimobile. 

The  beak,  as  usual  with  raptorial  birds,  is  long, 
powerful,  and  hooked  at  the  end.  In  colour  it  is  a 
dirty  white,  and  the  edges  of  both  mandibles  are 
exceedingly  sharp.  Underneath  the  beak  is  a  most 
curious  appendage  of  the  colour  of  blood,  glaring 
against  the  dark  background  of  the  body.  At  first 
sight  it  appears  as  if,  like  the  pelican,  the  Frigate 
Bird  possessed  a  pouch  for  the  holding  of  food,  except 
that  the  Frigate  Bird's  pouch  does  not  commence 
on  the  lower  mandible  or  half  of  the  beak,  but  just 
below  where  the  beak  joins  the  head,  on  the  neck. 
Generally  it  is  invisible,  but  while  the  bird  is  soaring 
a  watcher  will  see  the  crimson  netlike  bag  suddenly 
become  inflated,  until  it  looks  almost  portentous  in 
its  size  as  compared  with  that  of  the  bird.  There 
can  be  no  doubt  whatever  that  it  is  part  of  the  creature's 
provision  for  remaining  in  the  air  so  still  as  it  does 
at  great  heights,  just  a  bladder  capable  at  the  will  of 
its  possessor  of  being  filled  with  air.  And  yet  I  cannot 
help  thinking  that  there  is  some  flaw  in  this  argument, 


i 


J3 


5.  f/) 


.•2 


408 


The   Frigate   Bird 


because  T  fed  -ue  that  sopv-  Frigate-  Birds  do  not  carry 
o!io  of  til.  •  bladders.  In  watdiing  num'-crs  of  tlu'm 
I  have  noUced  tb,  t  some  bad  it,  and  ^^nme  bad  not  ; 
but  wbctlier  tl.ose  without  it  were  young  <    es  or  hens 

I   im  unable  to  say.  ,  ^u    c    , 

Their  leg   are  si  ort    nd  feeble,  and  although  the  foet 
i.re  webbed  the  webs  ai>  only  about  half  way  down  the 
toes      So  'hat  1'  •  v  are  obviously  meant  to  hve  practi- 
cally on   ilie  wmg.     All   natural  -ts  agree   that   they 
are  never  seen  swimi.   ag,  certainly  I  have  never  seen 
one  doing  so,  and  as  fur  walking  on  land  it  is  almost 
n  impossibility  with  them.     They  are  said  to  roost 
upon  the  bran.'  es  of  tr.rs,  a  most  unusual  thing  for 
sea-birds  to  do.  and  I  will  not  deny  the  possibility 
of    ihis      But   whenever    I    have    seen    them    ashore, 
ihey  have  roosted  and  laid  their  eggs  and  incubated 
among  rugged  rocks,  where,  by  the  aid  of  their  wings, 
they  could   flutter  heavily   from   one   irregularity   to 
another.     A  flat   surface  to  walk  upon  is  useless  to 
them      Their  method  of  feeding   again   is  pecubarly 
hawk-like  and  different  from  that  of  all  other  sea-birds. 
So  great  an  authority  and  careful  an  observer  as 
Charles  Darwin,  %vlnle  not  stating  explicitly  that  the 
Frigate  Bird  snatches  its  food  from  the  sea-surface, 
savs  that  if  the  offal,  etc.,  which  they  desire  sinks 
more  than  six  or  eight  inches  below  the  surface  it  is  lost 
to  them,  as  they  cannot  dive  like  any  other  sea-fowl. 
He  also   notes,  as  I  have  done   myself,   that  such  is 
their  power  of  mananivring  upon  the  wing  that  they 
can    and  do,  snatch  th.-  just  hatched  turtles  on  tbeir 
toddhng  way  down  the  bench  to  tli,   sea  from  the  pit 


where    they    ^vere 


born.  To  watch  a  1  rigate  Bird 
poiscd/say,  a  thousand  feet  above  the  sea  almost 
motionless,  except  f.,r  the  slow  turning  of  the  head 
from  -ide  to   side,  and   the  wide-eyed  glance  of  the 


The  Grace  of  Rapine        409 

eye  beneath,  suddenly  descend  in  a  scries  of  graceful 
curves  and  snatdi  the  hapless  flying-fish  as  he  rises 
from  the  sea,  is  to  realise  how  wonderful  are  the  powers 
given  to  these  birds.  It  is  an  object-lesson  in  perfectly 
graceful  motion,  even  the  snatch  which  secures  the 
hnny  fugitive  being  made  with  such  swift  alertness 
that  the  eye  cannot  follow  it,  and  the  beholder  imagines 
that  the  bird  has  missed  its  prey.  Rising  into  the 
air  again  the  fish  is  often  drojjped,  probably  because 
it  was  not  in  a  good  position  for  swallowing,  and  with 
one  glorious  swoop,  made  with  apparent  deliberatcness, 
but  really  with  tremendous  swiftness,  the  falling  fish 
has  been  caught  again  in  the  right  position,  and  as  the 
bird  soars  once  more,  the  observer  may  see  it  being 
slowly  degusted. 

But,  as  I  have  been  obliged  to  hint  before,  the 
main  business  of  life  for  the  Frigate  Bird  seems  to 
be  tliat  of  a  robber.  When  the  motherly  boobies 
leave  their  young  and  fussily  flap  out  to  the  fishing 
grounds,  they  do  not  see  that  floating,  like  black 
specks  in  the  blue  above,  the  Frigate  Bird  is  waiting 
for  their  appearance.  I  use  the  singular,  because 
the  Frigate  Bird  is  most  unsociable.  He  is  often 
seen  in  company  with  others  of  his  own  kind,  that 
is  in  the  sense  of  propinquity,  but  there  is  no  sort 
of  co-operation  or  apparent  desire  of  association  one 
with  another.  Every  pirate  singles  out  his  victim, 
w;  tches  with  keenest  interest  from  his  serene  height 
the  labouring  search,  imperceptibly  descending  to 
a  lower  plant  until  when  at  last  the  hard-working 
mother,  having  secured  the  fish,  starts  for  home, 
there  is  a  swift  descent  as  of  a  black  shadow,  full  of 
ease,  apparently  effortless,  yet  restrained.  It  is  no 
more  like  the  headlong  ])liinge  of  the  gannet  than  a 
man  running  is  like  a  bird  flying. 


r 


00 

--;  a 

-      X 

1/1  ;i- 


410  The  Frigate  Bird 

Poor  booby  becomes  conscious  of  the  presence  of 
her  aggressor,  as  hasteless,  fateful,  he  nears  her  ;  labours 
liardlv,    frantically    to    escape,    screams    mournfu.  y 
and  dodges.     As  well  try  to  dodge  a  lightning    lasli. 
The  pirate  is  in  no  hurry,  se.'ure  of  his  prey  he  draws 
r.arer,  nearer,  until  witli  a  nmM  scream  of  rage  and 
tcrroi  booby  drops  her  hsh  and  hurries  to  sea  again 
for   more        On    the   instant,    the    wide    wings,    only 
partially  extended  before,  expand  to  their  full  spread, 
there  is  a  tremendous  curve  through  the  air,  and  the 
falling  fisli  is  caught  with  ease  and  certainty,  although 
sometimes  onlv  just  as  it  is  touching  the  water,  and 
the  graceful  thief  mounts  again  to  his  aerial  point  of 

vantage.  ^  .,    . 

The  pathos  of  the  whole  thing  seems  to  me  that 
it  is  invariably  the  hen  boobies  who  are  robbed,  the 
male  !)ird>  dc^vouring  their  fish  as  soon  as  they  secure 
it      But  tlu-  mother  needs  her  catch  for  the  unHcdged 
youngsters   at  home,   and   is  con^eiuentiy  precluded 
from  swallowing  by  the  power  of  her  maternal  instinct. 
With  such  power  of  wing  and  ability  to  swoop  upon 
their  prey  it  does  seem  a  pity  that  the  Frigate  Birds 
cannot  confine   themselves   to  the   work  of  catching 
their  own  fi^h  first  hand.     But  then  man  is  always  of 
opinion  that  he  is  wiser  and  more  merciful  than  God, 
Wlio  hath  done  all  things  well.     It  is  another.instance 
of  human  arrogance,  which  indeed  cannot  be  trusted 
to  interfere  in  any  of  Nature's  work  without  doing 
hain  that  he  cannot  again  undo. 

One  pc(-ul.ariiy  attaches  to  the  Frigate  Bird  which 
I  found  very  pleasant.  On  the  occasion  of  which  I 
spoke  in  the  chapter  on  boobies,  when  the  men  made 
a  raid  upon  the  boob.es'  nets  (if  their  little  hollows 
in  the  sand  cn.kl  be  thu->  designated),  I,  havmg  no 
boots   was  compelled  to  stand  aside  or  suffer  grievous 


A  Desert  Home 


411 


liarm  to  my  foot  from  tlu  powerful  beaks  of  the  birds, 
wliich  tliey  drove  right  and  U^ft  hkc  lancc-hrads  at 
the  legs  and  feet  of  their  aggiessors  ;  ar.d  th>>se  of 
the  eggs  which  were  not  addled  or  nearly  hatched 
were  not,  I  must  say,  at  all  i)leasant  eating,  especially 
for  me,  for  whom  a  duck's  egg  is  too  strong.  So  my 
part  was  to  carry  tlie  eggs  into  camp,  but  fmding 
out  what  they  were  like,  I  determined  to  absent  myself 
from  the  booby-(gL;-hunt  next  morning,  and  have  an 
expedition  by  m\stlf. 

Now  the  oppo.^ite  side  of  the  island  upon  wl  '  h 
we  were  was  of  a  totally   different   character    to  tl'c 
side    where    we    camped.     The    island    was    di\-ided 
almost  in  half,  our  side  being  flat,  sandy,  and  in  many 
places  sparsely  covered  with  a  straggling  sort  of  bind- 
weed.    The  other  side  was  composed  of  huge  masses 
of  jagged  rock  hurled  together  in  fantastic  confusion, 
as  if  they  had  been  shot  out  of  a  chariot  of  the  gods. 
Over  these  tumbled  masses  I  climbed  with  considerable 
pain  to  my  feet,  which  only  the  intense  curiosity  I 
felt  could  allay,  until  F.uddenly  I  came  upon  a  series 
of  hollows,  in  each  of  which  were  two  large  eggs,  large, 
that  is,  as  a  good-sized  turkey's  egg  and  much  the 
same  in  appearance.     I  was  delighted,  and  immediately 
very  busy  collecting  these   treasures  until   I   had  as 
many  as  I  could  carry  back  in  my  cap.     In  the  course 
of  my  researches  I   saw  many   hen  birds  sitting  on 
their  eggs,   and  while  I   took  careful  note  of  them, 
watched  them  in  fact  with  an  almost  painful  ■ntent- 
ness,  I  am  glad  to  say  I  never  disturbed  one  of  them. 
May  I  say  in  parsing  that  I  hop''  my  readers  Nvill 
appreciate    the   almost   painful   delight    that   all   this 
was  to  me  ?     I  had  never  known  anything  before  this 
but  the  sedate  quiet  of  a  London  suburb,  sheltered 
from  all  outside  intluences  in  my  aunt's  quiet  home, 


k  - 

I, 


412 


The  Frigate   Bird 


.     3 
^2 


s 


and  aftrrwards  the  str;jn,t.'e  nomadic  oxi^^tmrr  of  \ho 
London  stncts,  and  Ihtc  I  was  in  fairvlind.  .\1\, 
tlicrc"  was  notliin;,'  of  tlir  nil  a'bnirari  ahont  me.  Only 
one  thing  was  wanting,  the  coping-stone  of  all  real 
cnjoymenv,  some  one  to  sliare  it  with  me.  \^\\i  in 
this  imperfect  world  the  ideal  is  always  jnst  beyond 
onr  reach,  and  my  already  great  hap]iine<s  was  by 
just  that  much  incomplete. 

Another  thing  1  noticed,  the  pathos  of  which  com- 
pletely reversed  the  severe  judgment   I   h.ad  already 
passed  upon  these  birds  for  what  I  considered  their 
really  infamous  behaviour  towards  the  poor  boobies, 
the  mournful  clo?ing-in  of  their  lives.     And  as  I  have 
never  since  seen  any  sea-birds  under  the  same  con- 
ditions,   the      xtreme    characten-tic    impression    still 
remains  with  me,  not  to  be  obliterated  or  even  altered 
in  any  way.     On  i-any  of  the  rock  points  around  sat 
Fritjate  Birds,  whose  active  life  was  over.     Some  grim 
disability    had    seized    them,    rendering    them    unable 
any   longer    to    soar   on    high    in    proud    superiority, 
monarchs  of  the  tropical  skies  over  the  sea.     There 
was  for  th(  m  no  help,  none  of  their  kind  came  to  feed 
them   or   sympathise  with   them,   just   contemptuous 
neglect  was  accorded  to  them.     They  could  not   be 
said   to   have   any   enemies ;     yes,   perhaps   one,   the 
wonderful   tenni  ity  with  which  life  clung  to  them. 

Oh,  the  pity  of  it  ,  after  nich  a  life  as  theirs  to  sit 
through  the  bright  day  and  the  sweet  night  doomed 
irrevocably  to  die,  but  imable  to  reach  that  blessed 
change  except  through  the  long  agony  of  waiting  ! 
Their'  feathers  Inmg  limply  dmvn.  tlieir  useles.  wings 
trailed,  the  joints  gleaming  whitely  through.  Those 
once  piercing  eves  were  gla;?ed,  the  proud  heads 
drooped,  and  only  the  slightest  motion,  a  sort  of 
shudder,    showed   that   they   were   conscious   of   my 


A  Welcome  Contribution      413 

presence  and  uii.ihle  to  resent  or  axoid  it.  An<l  all 
around  them  were  the  hones  of  tho^e  of  their  com- 
rades  who  had  in  like  uiaiiuer  sat  and  w.iit.d  for  death. 
as  if  to  assure  them  that  althoimh  the  wa\-  was  Ioul; 
the  goal  was  sure.  An  addid  p.ithos  cam.-  from  tin- 
fact  that  coming  and  going  bird-  })aid  not  the  slightest 
attention  to  these  silent  candidates  for  sympathv. 
much  less  help.  P>ut  neither  would  they  assault 
the  helpless  ones,  and  thus  open  the  door  of  relief 
to  them.  As  I  stood  and  gazed  I  felt  tiie  tears  stream- 
ing down,  for,  young  as  I  was,  the  spectacle  was 
sulficiently  sad  to  compel  all  my  sympathy.  Hut 
it  never  occurred  to  me  that  I  could  do  anything. 

Very  sadly  I  gathered  up  my  eggs  arid  took  my 
way  back,  my  spirits  rising  as  the  distance  between 
me  and  the  d\ing  ones  increased,  until,  when  I  reached 
the  camp  and  produced  my  hnd,  I  was  quite  ready 
to  be  puffed  up  with  a  sense  of  my  own  great  im- 
portance to  the  community.  It  was  nearly  breakfast- 
time,  and  my  contribution  was  immediately  put  in 
hand  for  cooking.  They  were  boiled,  those  eggs, 
and  the  first  man  to  taste  one  shouted  joyfully  : 
'  Why,  they're  better  than  chickens'  eggs.'  I  cordially 
endorsed  his  statement.  They  were  really  delicious  ; 
and  what  is  more,  there  was  not  an  addled  one  among 
them,  which  I  attribute  to  the  fact  that  I  had  not 
disturbed  any  of  the  parent  birds  from  their  sitting. 
The  whole  of  them  were  eaten  for  breakfast,  and 
afterwards,  since  there  were  no  immediate  duties  to 
perform,  all  hands  started  for  this  ne\^'  treasure  field, 
greedily  intent  upon  rilling  it  completely,  not  at  all 
because  we  were  in  need  of  food,  our  store  being  \ery 
abundant,  but — well,  because  I  suppose  man  is  natur- 
ally greedy. 

But    this    raid    was,   in  a   little   expected    sense, 


4U 


The   Frigate   Bird 


s 


entirely  ben.  nrmt.  For  uIm  n  tlu  mm  rcarhod  the 
r,u-ks  and  saw  the  niMnuiii.ntal  poses  <.f  the  dymf,' 
birds  ♦'-.•%•,  fori^'-ttin^  for  the  moment  the  (juest  for 
,.,.e.  '  ..!>ed  upon  them  ^slth  sticks  and  slew  until 
tlielast  of  the  sufferers  had  been  set  free.  It  was 
done  in  a  very  brutal  and  thnuc^hthss  way,  but  the 
result  wa.  .'utirely  good.  St.ll,  1  felt  glad  even  then 
I  had  no  hand  in  it.  so  perfectly  unmerciful  may  some 
of  our  most  merciful  restraints  be. 

A  great  gath(<ring  of  eggs  was  made,  so  great  tha 
the  whole  of  the  laving  ground  wa.  eomph  :ely  cleared 
of   them    and   also,   with   a  wantonness  for  which    1 
cannot    f^nd   sutticient   condemnation,    the   eggs   upon 
which    the    mothers    were    sitting    were    also    taken, 
none  of  them  ht   for  food.     So  we  had  a  grand  feast 
of  cRgs  for  two  or  three  days,  after  which  we  ha-l  to 
PO  without,  for  we   could    not    go   back  to  the  rank 
Lgs  of  the  booby  with  the  fre.h,  sweet  taste  of  the 
Frigate  Birds'  eggs  in  our  mouths.     And  then  the  men 
lamented,  as  usual  too  late,  their  extravagance        I 
noticed,  however,  that  every  day  one  or  two  of  the 
men  would   go  over  to  the  rocks  and  have   a  busy 
search  for  a  stray  egg  or  so.     Seamen  are    of  course, 
passionately  fond  of  fresh  eggs  and  vegetables,  because 
they  come  their  way  so  seldom.    So  that  their  voracity 
may  perhaps  be   excused. 

I  am  loth  to  leave  the  Frigate  Bird,  because  he 
is  the  last  of  the  Deep-Sea  People  with  which  I  have 
to  deal.  And  vet,  somehow,  I  do  not  feel  able  to 
treat  of  his  life' in  an  idyllic  fashion.  Having  stated 
what  I  know  about  him,  I  fear  I  have  left  myself 
little  room  or  reason  so  to  do.  He  seems  to  be  entirely 
free  from  all  those  pretty  traits  characteristic  of  most 
other  sea-birds.  So  destitute  of  natural  affection 
are  they,  even  for  their  young,  that  it  is  no  ur.<  ommon 


A   Comic   Interlude 


415 


thing,  I  am  told,  for  the  hen  ami  cock  to  fi^'lit  furinu-l\- 
over  the  bcjdy  of  the  jxjor  lled^^eliii^'  until  it  is  toin 
to  l)ieci'S,  uliirh  [)icic>  thry  devour  with  the  L,'reate>t 
avidity.  Now  there  are  sia-birds  as  \vi  11  as  land-birds 
which  will  eat  each  fithers'  ej^'f^'s,  but  no  sea-bird 
except  the  Frigate  Bird  will  ever  devour  the  young  of 
even  other  birds,  much  less  its  own.  It  is  a  horrible 
practice,  but  one,  I  suppose,  that  has  become  common, 
owing  to  tlie  birds'  curious  limitations  in  the  way  of 
food-getting. 

I  may  just  say  in  passmg  tliat  one  of  the  most 
comical  natural  history  scenes  I  ever  witnessi'd  was 
enacted  amo  . ,  these  rocks,  under  my  very  nose 
almost.  A  bird  was  sitting,  and  for  some  reason 
I  did  not  unJ' rstand,  kept  looking  anxiously  first 
at  me  and  then  down  by  its  side  :-t  a  crevice  in  the 
rocks.  I  stepped  a  pace  or  two  nearer  to  see  what 
might  be  the  matter,  when  the  bird,  apparently  unable 
to  endure  my  presence  any  longer,  soared  away, 
exposing  two  eggs.  Immediately  there  appeared 
over  the  edge  of  the  hollow  in  which  the  eggs  lay  the 
points  of  a  row  of  claws,  and  a  large  crab  hoisted  itself 
hurriedly  by  means  of  them.  It  at  once  embraced 
one  of  the  eggs,  and  turning  to  carry  it  off,  tried  to 
trundle  the  other  one  after  it  by  covering  the  eggs 
with  two  of  its  feet.  I  had  no  stick,  and  a  wholesome 
dread  of  the  nippers  of  a  crab  like  that,  so  I  stayed 
where  I  was  and  watched  the  poacher's  antics.  They 
were  irresistibly  fumy.  He  tried  to  look  at  me  and 
where  he  was  going  at  the  same  time  ;  he  wanted 
both  of  those  eggs,  and  they  hampered  his  movements. 
While  he  was  cuddling  the  front  egg,  he  tried  to  keep 
the  other  big  claw  ready  for  attack  or  defence,  as  the 
case  presented  itself ;  and  on  top  of  all  his  other 
troubles  I  could  see  that  he  expected  the  proprietress 


I 


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-ex 


416  The   Frigate  Bird 

of  tlum  would  be  back  again  directly,  and  that  she 

was    much    more    to   be    feared    than    the    feathcrless 

biped    that    was    watchir.     him.     The    upshot    of    it 

all  was  that  In:  fell  off  tlic  edge  of  the  rock,  a  distance 

of  about  fcui-.  feet,  on  to  a  smaU  boulder.     There  was 

quite  a  smash,  for  when  I  looked  after  him  I  saw  that 

both  eggs  were  split,  scjme  of  his  claws  were  damr.ged, 

and  there  was  a  crack  across  his  carapace  that  looked 

as  if  he  would  need  a  new  one  at  once.     But  the  tumble 

did    not    seem   to  worry  him.     He  was   making   the 

best  of  the  time  at  his  disposal  loading  his  reservoir 

with  the  contents  of  the  eggs,  while  I  watched  him, 

laughing  more  heartily  than  I  had  done  for  a  long  time. 

I  know  that  the  recital  of  his  adventures  has  little 

humour  about  it,  but  his  antics  were  as  comical  as 

those  of  any  clown. 


CHAPTER    XXVIII 


SEAWEED 


AND  now,  having  come  to  the  close  of  my  pleasant 
task,  I  would  like  to  take  the  liberty  of  saying  a 
few  words  upon  a  subject  which,  while  not  strictly 
within  the  compass  of  my  subject,  is  so  closely  cUied  to 
it  that  I  hope  I  shall  be  forgiven  for  alluding  to  it.  It 
is  about  Seaweed.  I  cannot  pretend  to  have  made  the 
growths  of  the  sea  a  matter  of  study,  although  I  am 
well  aware  how  fascinating  the  subject  is ;  but  I  have 
noticed  very  closely  how  important  Seaweed  is  to  fish, 
and  especially  the  fish  of  the  Deep  Sea.  Not  as  a  matter 
of  food,  of  course.  With  the  exception  of  the  manatees 
and  possibly  the  turtle,  as  far  as  I  am  aware,  none 
of  the  Deep-Sea  People  eat  Seaweed,  but  use  it  for 
purposes  of  shelter  and  breeding. 

The  most  important  of  all,  as  well  as,  I  think, 
the  most  wonderful,  is  the  beautiful  sea-growth  known 
to  sailors  as  Gulfweed  or  Sargasso  Weed,  and  to 
oceanologists  as  Fucus  natans,  because  it  floats  and 
grows,  needing  no  settled  abiding  place  or  root-hold. 
It  is  confined  to  the  North  Atlantic  and  Gulf  of  Mexico, 
and  is  found  in  greatest  quantities  in  the  vast  eddy 
formed  on  the  eastern  side  of  that  ocean  between  the 
Gulf  Stream  and  the  Equatorial  Current.  A  whole 
series  of  romances  might  be  built  upon  this  wonderful 
weed-covered  portion  of  the  ocean.  One  or  two  have 
been   based   on   the   supposition   that   the   enormous 

417  37 


4i8 


Ceaweed 


» 


i2 


-.TV 


masics  of  closely  knit  weed  are  impenetrable  by  ships, 
and  that  by  some  curious  centripetal  force  the  majority 
of  derelicts  in  the  North  Atlantic,  unless  destroyed, 
find  their  way  into  its  solitudes  sooner  or  later. 

I  do  not  l)clieve  that  it  is  anywhere  packed  suffi- 
ciently closely  to  prevent  a  sailing  ship  getting  through 
it,  given  sufficient  wind.  But  then  that  part  of  the 
North  Atlantic  is  subject  to  many  calms  and  light 
;urs,  and  there  is  seldom  a  breeze  of  sufficient  strength 
blowing  over  it  to  enable  a  sailing  ship  to  force  her  way 
througii.  I  have  several  times  sailed  through  parts 
of  the  region  where  the  sea  looked  more  like  some 
vast  ripe  cornfield  than  anything  else,  and  no  matter 
what  wind  we  '  id  there  were  no  waves,  they  simply 
could  not  rise  because  of  the  weed.  Steamers  of  course 
give  it  a  very  wide  berth,  since  the  great  masses  of 
weed  hampers  a  propeller  dreadfully,  and  that  too 
when  so  much  more  power  than  usual  is  needed  to 
force  the  ship  through. 

The  Gulfweed  is,  I  think,  the  most  beautiful  of 
all  Seaweeds.  It  is  of  a  light  golden  hue,  with  delicate 
leaves  and  berries,  both  of  the  same  colour,  and  bearing 
no  resemblance  in  shape  to  the  ribbon-like  wrack 
of  the  coast.  It  certainly  looks  tempting  enough  to 
eat,  and  it  may  be  also  that,  unknown  to  us,  some 
of  the  sea  creatures  do  eat  it.  But  that  is  certainly 
not  its  primary  use.  In  it  myriads  of  the  deep-sea 
fish  breed,  its  close-knit  fronds  affording  shelter  to 
the  young  fry  when  hatched  such  as  they  could  gain 
nowhere  else  in  the  sea.  Not  only  shelter,  but  food 
perfectly  suited  to  their  immature  needs.  It  simply 
swarms  with  life,  and  a  bucket  full  of  weed  hauled 
up  almost  anywhere  would  yield  a  splendid  population 
for  a  deep-sea  aquarium. 

It  is  the  home  too  of  myriads  of  crabs,  which  I 


Submarine  Forests 


419 


do  not  think  c\er  grow  to  any  size.  I  ccitainly  do 
not  suggest  tiuit  the  edil)le  crab  of  our  C(.,i>ts  breeds 
there,  and  makes  the  long  journey  through  mid- 
oeean  to  get  to  where  lie  may  become  of  use  to  man. 
Especially,  as  the  crab  cannot  swim  through  the  water 
horiz(jntally  like  other  Crustacea,  he  must  have  a  place 
of  some  stability  to  walk  upon,  whether  it  be  tlie 
bottom  of  the  sea,  or  a  frond  v^f  weed,  or  the  planks 
of  a  derelict.  No,  I  f(-el  sure  that  the  small  crabs  of 
the  Gulfweed  arc  a  small  species,  and  do  not  grow 
larger  than,  say,  three  inches  across  the  carapace. 
It  is  the  breeding  place  of  the  marvellous  flying-fish, 
whose  ova  closely  simulate  its  berries.  It  also  affords 
a  spawning  ground  for  those  fish  such  as  the  dolphin, 
which  are  the  flying-fishes'  fiercest  enemies. 

But  as  most  of  this  has  already  been  said  in  the 
course  of  preceding  chapters  I  will  pass  on,  albeit 
reluctantly,  from  the  wonderful  floating  weed  of  the 
North  Atlantic  to  the  gigantic  '  Kelp,'  as  sailors 
insist  upon  calling  it,  of  the  South  Seas.  Round 
many  of  those  isolated  mountain  peaks  rising  from  the 
lonely  ocean  plateaux  two  or  three  thousand  fathoms 
beneath,  piercing  the  troubled  surface  of  the  almost 
equally  lonely  sea,  and  towering  another  thousand 
fathoms  into  the  air  there  grows  an  extraordinary 
plant.  Its  leaves  grow  to  a  length  of  six  feet  and 
a  width  of  a  foot,  being  in  colour  and  consistency 
like  wet  leather.  Their  stems,  as  thick  as  a  stout 
man's  arm,  grow  to  lengths  unknown,  but  certainly 
over  a  hundred  feet,  grow  up  from  the  rocks  beneath 
until  they  reach  the  surface,  a  veritable  submarine 
forest  whose  limits  are  sharply  defined  by  the 
depths  from  which  the  plant  can  reach  the  water- 
surface. 

All  around  an  island  such  a  forest  will  grow  to  a 


420 


Seaweed 


distance  off  shore  proportionate  to  the  steepness  of 
tlie  descent  of  the  island's  base  Within  its  Umits 
no  sea  can  rise.  The  fiercest  waves  tliat  ever  roll 
make  no  impression  upon  this  natural  breakwater, 
whose  piles  are  so  flexible  that  one  may  tie  them  in 
a  knot,  and  so  slender  that  they  may  be  encircled  by 
a  hand  clasp.  Through  the  dim  recesses  of  this  won- 
derful forest  the  fish  wander  at  their  ease  and  in  perfect 
shelter  from  whatever  it  is  that  fish,  surface  fish  that 
is,  dislike  in  a  storm.  In  among  its  foliage  they  find 
infmite  stores  of  food,  yet  in  its  deepest  confines  there 
is  safe  shelter  for  the  young  fry  that  would  otherwise 
soon  be  annihilated.  And  for  the  navigator  it  often 
marks  outlying  rock  points  that  would  otherwise 
be  passed  unobserved,  although  it  certainly  prevents 
the  sea  breaking  over  them  in  a  gale. 

Occasionally  immense  masses  of  it  are  torn  by  the 
violence  of  the  waves  from  the  root-holds  on  the  out- 
lying fringe  of  the  forest  and  take  a  long,  long  journey 
by  the  aid  of  the  sea  and  current,  carrying  with  them 
a  microcosm  of  fish  life  to  breed  and  multiply  in  some 
far-distant  land  from  their  original  habitat.  Which 
may  account  for  the  prevalence  of  precisely  the  same 
lisli  in  places  so  very  widely  separated.  Take  it 
altogether,  it  is  a  curious  plant,  drawing  no  sustenance 
through  its  roots,  but  merely  anchoring  in  obedience 
to  some  strange  plant  instinct  for  fear  of  being  washed 
away,  and  subsisting  entirely  upon  what  it  draws 
direct  from  the  limpid  but  bitterly  salt  waters  of 
the  sea. 

And  lastly,  not  because  of  the  exhaustion  of  the 
subject,  but  because  I  can  only  deal  with  deep-sea 
weed  ;  that  wonderfully  rapid  growing  weed  which 
appears  as  it  were  spontaneously  in  any  part  of  the 
ocean  where  tlui"  is  a  >nliil  substance  to  which  it  can 


The  Slimy  Sea  Grass        42 1 

attach  Itself.  Kipling  alludes  to  it  in  his  fine  poem 
of  the  Derelict  : — 

*  South  where  the  corals  breed, 
The  footless  flojting  ueed 
Folds  me  and  fouls  me,  strake  on  strak**  Mp^rawling.' 

Its  spores  must  be  universally  diffused  all  over  the 
millions  of  square  miles  of  ocean.  For  only  let  a 
congenial  surface  be  exposed  to  the  action  of  the  sea, 
such  as  a  wooden  plank  or  a  bare  piece  of  iron  (it 
does  not  love  the  poisonous  paint  which  is  put  on 
the  bottom  of  steel  ships  or  yellow  metal  sheathing), 
and  in  an  incredibly  short  space  of  time  the  weed 
will  cover  it  with  a  bright  green  slimy  veil  which, 
being  scraped  off  and  dried,  looks  like  the  very  finest 
grass.  So  rapidly  docs  it  grow  that  in  wet  ships, 
as  we  call  them,  that  is,  vessels  over  whose  decks  the 
sea  is  almost  continually  washing  in  heavy  weather, 
it  is  absolutely  necessary  to  give  the  decks  a  good 
hard  scrubbing  every  two  or  three  days  to  rl(^ar  off 
this  weed  growth,  which  is  so  extremely  slippery  as 
to  make  it  dangerous  to  walk  about  the  decks. 

It  is  a  very  curious  siglit  to  see  a  ship,  a  sailing 
ship  that  is,  that  has  been  out  a  long  while  rolling 
lazily  in  a  calm  with  the  long  dank  tresses  of  the  weed 
on  her  sides  lying  closely  to  her  as  she  lifts,  and  floating 
out  all  around  her  as  if  alarmed  when  she  plunges. 
But  it  looks  exceedingly  mournful  upon  a  derelict, 
which  naturally  gathers  more  upon  it  than  a  vessel 
which  is  being  handled,  since  it  is  obvious  that  the 
quieter  its  host  the  more  rapid  its  rate  of  growth. 
It  will  there  be  found  growing  thickly  all  over  her, 
even  in  the  cabins  if  the  sea  has  easy  access,  and  as 
she  wallows  helplessly  it  spreads  like  a  gloomy  halo 
worn   by  the  genius  of  despair.     Only   upon   closer 


423 


Seaweed 


C.1 
Ui 


:^2 


5 


inspection  it  is  seen  to  be  somewhat  enlivened  by  the 
presence  of  a  multitudn  of  living  creatures,  mostly 
Crustacea  or  the  spat  of  limpets  and  barnacles  ;  and 
one  feels  that,  instead  of  being  in  the  presence  of 
death,  he  is  in  the  midst  of  abundant  joyful  life. 

My  pleasant  task  is  over,  and  for  all  apology  for 
its  many  shortcomings  I  can  only  say  that  I  have  done 
my  best  to  put  facts  before  the  reader  without  being 
tedious,  so  that  if  the  instruction  was  sUndcr  the 
interest  might  not  ilng.  I  need  scarcc^ly  hay  that  by 
the  aid  of  text  books  it  would  have  been  quite  easy 
to  expand  each  one  of  tliese  cliapters  into  a  book 
as  long  as  the  whole  of  them.  But  that,  I  take  it, 
would  have  been  to  defeat  the  object  for  which  I 
was  commissioned  to  write  tliese  papers,  and  which  I 
tried  to  foreshadow  in  the  brief  introduction  to  them. 
If  what  has  been  here  set  down  has  in  some  degree 
increased  the  reader's  interest  in  and  reverence  for 
the  work  of  God  in  places  far  from  his  every-day  ken 
and  made  him  feel  that  it  is  worth  while  to  cultivate 
a  wide  and  sympathetic  outlook  upon  His  world,  I 
shall  be  abundantly  repaid. 


THE  END 


INDEX 


Agulhas  Banks,  the,  64 

cod  at,  285 
Albacore,  the.  182-203 

description  of,  182 

food  of,  183 

size  of,  184 

fishing  for,  185,  20I 

range  of,  187 

life-story  of,  187-203 

egg-laying,  202 
Albatross,  331-349 

description  of,  333 

food  of,  334 

range  of,  336 

breeding  of,  337 

varieties  of,  338 

life-story  of,  34t-349 
Alepisaurus  ferox 

description  of,  156 

range  of,  1 57 

fragility  of,  158 
Alligator  guard,  98,  IIO 
Alopecias  vulpes 

the  foe  of  right  whales,  45 
Anchovy,  307 
Antarctic  Circle,  the,  49 
Auckland  Island,  84 
Auks,  397 
Autobiography      of     a     sperm 

whale,  13-38 

Bacallao,  283 
Balaena  auslrali^,  48-50 
Balaenoptera  sibbaldii  sulphur- 
eous, 64 
Baleen,  46 
Bank  cod  fishery,  281 


Barbadoes,  albacore  at,  185 

flying-fisli  fisliery  at,  230-233 
narnarle«,  2;^ 
Barracouta,  310-328 

description  (if,  311 

anecdotes  of,  312 

fishing  for,  313-328 

rapacity  of,  321 

lite  of,  323 

differenres  in,  324 

varieties  of,  324 
Barrier  Reef,  the,  53 
Bartholinus,  137 
Basilaurus,  169 
Basking  Sliaik,  97 
Bean,  Mr.,  Ill,  310,  325 
Berke,  Lotiis,  1 10 
Beluga,  the,  66,  67,  70 
Benthodesmus  Atlanticus,  159 
Benkelaer,  William,  295 
Bergen,  receipt  at,  81 
Biihngsgate,  fish  at,  278 
Black  Fish,  67,  71 
Bonito,  the,  204,  220 

description,  204 

fishing  for,  205,  209 

size  of,  207 

range  of,  207,  210 

warm-blooded,  214 

parasites  of,  215 

as  food,  2 1 7 
Boobies,  386-395 

description  of,  387 

stupidity  of,  588 

anecdotes  of,  388 

hun'ing  for,  389 

foes  of,  393 


433 


424 


Index 


:  Z 

s 


r.  ttli'-nncp  Whale,  66 
Howhead  Whale,  39-50 
Ikama,  272 

I!ri(li;eto\vn,  flyiiig-fish  at,  230 
•Britannia,'  286 
Burbot,  290 

Durn-Murdoch,  cry  of,  95 
J>y  AW/ and  J'a/m,  1 10 

♦Cachalot,"  318 

Cimpbell  Islatid,  84 

Cape  Hens,  338,  340 

Cape  Pigeons,  350,  359-367 

Ltipiaini  Couruiiiuui,  201 

Carlisle  Bay,  iSj 

Cavall6,  327 

Cephalopoda,  127,  132,  1 34- 1 36 

Ceti'tnimu^,  i  55 

'Challenger,' the,  146,  154,  163 

Chelone  imbricata,  123 

Chelonophagi,  123 

I  hiasmodon  niger,  i  53 

Chii!i:eias,  Deep-Sca,   146-164 

Re'f^alccus,  i  52 

Chiasmodnn  ni-^er,  153 

RondeUtia,  155 

Cetoviiniux,  155 

SinifnchelySy  i  5  5 

Eurypharynx\  155 

Pelicanoidcs,  1  56 

Snccnpharynx  /lagelltim,  1 56 

Alcpiiiiurus  ferox,  156 

Frost-lish,  158 

Benthndesmus  Atlantiaa,  1 59 

Lrpholatilus  chamaelconticeps, 

159 

Tile-Psh,  159 
:      Mancalius  franosropHS.  163 
Corynolophus  Reinhardtii,  164 
Mdanocetus  Johnsonii,  164 
IJocetus  Murray i,  164 

Chinese  fishermen,  123 

Cliipia  alba,  305 

Cliipea  pihhardus,  297 

'  Cockney,'  anecdote  of,  226 

Cod,  274-290 

fecundity  of,  275 
food  of,  276,  280,  286 
fishing  lor,  276,  281,  282 
decrt  ase  of,  277 


Cod     {rontinufd') 

iinml)Prs  ot,  280 

cixl-liver  od,  284 

varifties  of,  287 

size  of,  290 
Corvnoliiplius  Kcinhardlii,  164 
Corvpltdi-na,  Gy 
('orv/iiarna  equisrtus,  250 
Co'vpharna  hippurus,  250 
Crabs,  418 

Cru^ailes,  tribute  to,  81 
Crustacea,  tiny,  4' 
Cuttle- tish,      food     for     sperm 

whales,  24 

description  of,  127-145 

species  of,  132 

Pluiy  on,  136 

stories  of,  1 37-140 

fc'cundity  of,  141 

their  scent  of  musk,  142 

mode  of  reproduction,  143 

Dartyloplerus  orientalis,  236 
Darlylopterus  7'olitans,  236 
DiTilalut,  the,  176 
Darwui,  Charles,  on  frigate  bird, 

408 
Decapods,  defcription  of,  13a 

range  of,  133 

food  of,  134 
Delphinidae,  66 

species  of,  67 

foes  of,  69 

cannibalism  of,  69 
Derclirt,  quoted,  421 
Uog  Fish,  113 
Dol|>bins,  the,  66,  238-255 

species  of,  67 

fins  of,  6vj 

cannibalism,  69 

description  of,  238 

colours  of,  239 

scales  of,  240 

medial  line,  240 

fins  of,  240 

shape  of,  241 

breeding-places,  24I 

range  ot,  242 

fishing  for,  244,  248,  254 

cannibalism  of,  246 


Index 


425 


'4 


eim 


lird, 

3 


Dolphins — (ronf/tiuejy 

numb«Ts  of,  247 

food  of,  248 

flesh  of,  249 

species  of,  250 

life  of,  252 

as  food,  25; 
Drevar,  Captain,  on  sca-seipents, 

■73 
iJugong,  73.  74 

Eckineis  remora,  273 
Edinburgh  to  the  Antarctic,  95 
Elepfiant    Seal.      See  Sea   Ele- 
phant. 
Emymura  serpentina,  I3i 
Engraulis,  307 
Eskimo,  hunters  of  walrus,  81 
Eudyptila  minor,  398 
Enrypharynx,  155 
Exocetae,  185 
Exocetus  nigricans,  228 
Exocetus  votitans,  223 

Fernando  do  Noronha,  99 
Finback  Whale,  the,  visit  of,  60 
Fishes,  deep-sea,  146-164 
Fishing,  a  grand  day's,  326 
Flat-fishes,  325 
Flat-head,  the,  144 
Floating  island,  a,  213 
Flounders,  326 
Flying-fish,  221-237 

powers  of,  221 

E.  voHtems,  223 

description  of,  233 

velocity  of,  225 

bladders  of,  226 

spawning  place  of,  327 

fecundity  of,  228 

E.  nigricans,  228 

fishing  for,  229-233 

range  of,  234 

numbers  of,  234 
French  whalers,  48 
Fresh-water  Herring,  308 
Frigate  Bird,  403-416 

range  of,  405 

character  of,  405,  409 

dejcripiion  of,  406 


Fripate  Bird — {continued) 

eggs  of,  411 

old  birds,  412 

a  coniic  scene,  415 
Frost-fish,  158 
Fucus  natans,  417 
Fulmar  Petrel,  335,  373 

Gadidne,  274 

Gar-fish,  261 

Giai:t  Petrel,  335 

Giant  .Skate,  98,  IIO 

Globiiephalus,  71 

Gloucester,  Mass.,  fishermen  of, 

282 
Goode,  Mr.,  in,  159^  179^  310, 

325 
Gnsse,  Mr  ,  173 
Grampus,  the,  67 
Great  Auk,  397 
Greenland    Whale.      Ste   Right 

W  hale 
Greenlander's  tribute  of  walnts 

tusks,  81 
Grenadines,  the,  117 
Grien,  M  ,  168 
Groper,  327 
Gulfweed,  417,  418 
Giinther,  Dr.,  on  sharks,  109 

on  deep-sea  fishes,  146 

on  oar-fish,  352 

on  herring,  291 
Gurnard,  red,  235 
Gurnard,  sapphirine,  335 
Gymnoptts,  131 

Haddock,  275,  378 
Hakf,  275 
Halibut,  325 
Halicore,  73 

food  of,  74 
Harbinger,  the,  IIS 
Harp  Seal,  90 
Hartvvig,  Dr.,  on  cod,  374 

on  albatross,  335 

on  penguins,  399 

Hawk's-bill  Turtle,  123 
'  Helen  McGregor,'  316 
Herring.  291-309 

trade  in,  a9>294,  396 


426 


Index 


'■  5 


s 


ni-rrinC"(""' ''"""') 

rariRP  ot,  21)4 

ciirinR  of,  2i>; 

vari>-tii-s  of,  2i;7-309 

tishinp  for,  303 
Hiilisons  Hay,  144 
Iloll.ind,  (islurit-S  in,  296 
Holothtnr'd.  123 

llonif,  Mr    K.,  on  fossil  fish,  180 
Hiij^o,  \'irior,  127 
Iliiinhol  It's  .'.■iiRuin.  399 
Humphark   Whale,   lile   of,   45, 

51-5.S 

arms  of,  52 

foes  of,  52 

food  of,  53 

attaikcd  \iy  man,  54-5^ 

play  of  56 

parasltl■^  of,  i;7 

blubbci  ol,  57 
Hydranhos  b-.i'limiinni,  172 

iNACCESSiiiLE  Island,  34 
Infusoria,  151 

Janthina,  158 
Jefferieri,  Richard,  9 
Jelly-fish,  128 

Kauwhai,  327 

Kelp,  419 

Kerguelen's  Land,  84 

Khelindromi,  187 

Killer  Whale,  43 

King  of  the  herrings,  153 

Kipling,  Kndyard,  9,  73,  403,  421 

Kiiclier,  Athanasius,  137 

Korh,  Dr.  A.  C,  on  sea-serpents, 

172 
Kotitk,  73,  96 
Kraken,  the,  138 

Lance-fish.     See  Sword-fish 

Large  Huiring,  308 
Lee,  Mr.,  173 
Limpets  on  wliales,  57 
Ling,  275,  288 
IJoictiis  Mutrayi,  164 
Lister.  Dr,  172 
Loluden  Inlands,  138 


f.oli^n,  132 

'  Londiin,'  262 

lujplioiiitilus     chamaeleontiupi 

L'Orient,  306 
Loyalty  Islands,  353 
Liiras,  Mr  ,  l6i 
Lydekker,  310 

M.ihabarata,  the,  179 
M.ickerel,  256-273 

sold  on  Sunday,  257 

dant;ers  of,  257 

flesh  of,  2,8 

description  of,  258 

schools  of,  259 

numbers  of,  260 

range  of,  260 

mackerel  guide,  261 

action  of  moon  upon,  263 

us<'  of,  in  America,  263 

varieties  of,  263-273 

i:cc  also  Albacore 
Mackerel  Guide,  261 
Magnus,  Olaus,  on  the   kraken, 

137 

on  sea-serpents,  170 
Maldive  Island,  265 
Mallemucks,  338 
Man-of war  Bird,  403 
Manatees,  73-76 

food  of,  74 

as  pets,  75 

character  of,  75 
Mancalius  Uranoscopus,  163 
Maories  fishery  for  Barracouta, 

McQiihae,  Captain,  on  sea-ser- 
pent, 176 
Medusae,  128,  t88 
Megaptcia,  167 
Melanocetus  Johnsonii,  164 
Melville,  Herman,  quoted,  139 
Menhaden,  297 
Miclielet,  403,  404 
Mimulus  moschatus,  142 

universality  of,   scent 

of,  371 
Moby  Dick,  quoted,  139 
j  Mullymauks,  338 


tps 


Index 


1  2 


V 


len, 


lUta, 
ser- 


39 


icent 


Miinnro,  Pritiro  of,  2o8 
Mciiuircli  of  tlif  I)i'p|),  the,  lo 
Moon,  action  of,  ii;h)ii  tisli,  263 
Morse,  tlic.     ><r  WalriiM 
Mother    Careys    (!hi(  ken,    351, 

Miillrt,  New  ZealanH,  327 
Mnsk,  universalitv  ot,  371 
Miisk-iat's  t.iil,  Mtiit  of,  371 
Mynncco/i/iii^its,  77 
Mystiretus,  the,  39-50 

Narborough,  Sir  J,,  398 

Narwhals,  67,  70 

I\'ature,  174 

Nelson,  Peter,  167 

Nets,  fishing,  303 

New  Zealand,  salmon  and  trout 

taken  lo,  321 
N^nvfoundland  Banks,    the,   64, 

279 

cod  fishery  of,  285 
North  Pole,  the,  40 
Norwegian  whalers,  63 
Nova  Scotia,  279 

Oar-fish,  152 

Ocean  depths,  life  at,  147 

Odopoda,  128 

Octopus,  the,  127-145 
description  of,  128,  130 
adventure  with,  128 
size  of,  131 
sucking  discs  of,  13I 

Orca,  67 

Orca  gladiator,  43 

Orkney,  fossil  in,  180 

Oudemans,    Professor,   on    sea- 
serpents,  168-171 

Owen,    Professor,    on    sea-ser- 
pents, 176 

Pajaro  nino,  399 

Palmer,   Mr.,   on  frigate   birds, 

405 
'  Pauline,'  the,  173 
Paulinus,  137 
Pelicanoides,  156 
Penguins,  395 

description  of,  397,  398 


I'etipiiins— (<r(i(«//««ra  ^ 

hie  ot,  39S 
raiiKe  oi,  3(;9 
f<)0<l  of,  401 

I'.IMMIlf,    ^73 

/V/7.  /cs,  (jiioted,  68 

I'.trels,  tlie,  568   ;85 
I'hai-ton  etherius,  356-358 
I'lli  hard,  297 

nmnhers  of,  298 

taste  of,  296 

trade  in,  299 
Pilot  tish.  100-103 
I'iiit.ido  Petrel,  350 
Piscan  dfl  Diablo,  ^8 
Pleswsaurus,  177 
Pliny,  12^,  136 
Polar  Hear,  the,  81 
Polar  Sea  the,  39 
Pollock,  275,  289 
Pomlret,  272 

Poiitoppidan,  Bishop,  on  Cepha- 
lopoda, 137 

on  sea-serpents,  169 
Porpoise,  the,  66,  67 

speed  of,  68 

oil  of,  70 
Port  Chalmers,  fishing  for  cod 

at,  287 
'  Princess  Alice,'  208 
Pristis,  98,  107 
Procellaria,  355,  375 
Procelliiria  pelagica,  369 
Pygmy,  Penguin,  398 

Raiiae,  98,  1 10 
Rays,  112 
Red  Gurnard,  235 
Red  Sea,  the,  20 
Regalecus,  152 
Reingelder,  403 
RemOiK^,  44,  103,  108 

used  as  fishers,  133 

true  place  of,  251 
Rhinodon  typicus,  109 
Rhytina,  73 
Right  Whale,  39-50 

size  of,  40 

blubber  of,  40 

spermaceti,  40 


428 


Index 


:5 


s<^W^- 


Right  \yha\e—(coHtiuued) 

food  of,  41 

whalebone,  42 

gullet  of,  42 

schools  of,  43 

sluggishness  of,  43 

enemifs  of,  43-46 

range  of,  46 

numbers  oi,  46 

life  of,  47 

southern,  48-50 
Rock  Cod,  287 
Rockall  Bank,  the,  64 
Rocklings,  275,  287 
Rogers,    Professor,   on   sea-ser- 
pents, 172 
Rondeletia,  155 
RorquaH.  the,  5<>-73 

solitariness  of,  60 

value  of,  62 

fishi'ig  for,  62 

omriivorousness  of,  64 

damage  done  by,  65 

species  of,  66 

speed  of,  68 
Ross,  Sir  J.,  401 
Rothschild,  Hon.  W.,  405 
'  Rotomahana,'  167 

Sable  Island, 279 

Saccopharynxflafrellum,  1 56 

Saddle-back  Seal,  90 

'St.  Helena  Beef,'  253 

St.  Ives,  pilchard  fishing  at,  298 

St.  Paul's  Rocks,  190 

Salmo  arcticus,  280 

Salmon  taken  to  New  Zealand, 

321 
Salting  fish,  208-220 
Sapphirine  Gurnard,  235 
Sardine,  306 

decrease  of,  306 

range  of,  307 
Sargasso  Sea,  191,  227,  243 
Sargasso  Weed,  417 
^argassum  baca/erum,  242 
Saw-fish,  98,  107 
Scombridae.  100-103,  128 
Sea,  the  temperatore  of,  ill 

life  at  bottom  of,  147-164 


Sea  Bear,  90 

Sea  Cow,  the,  73 

Sea  Elephant,  the,  83-89 

description  of,  83 

nose  of,  83 

numbers  of,  83 

hunting  for,  84-88 

food  of,  88 

lot  of,  89 
Sea  Horse,    See  Walrus. 
Sea  Hippopotamus,  83-89 
Sea  Leopard,  90 
Sea  Lion,  90 
Sea  Slug,  123 
Sea  Swallow,  123 
Sea  Turtles,  121 
Sea  Vitch,  77 
Seals,  go-96 

speed  of,  90 

life  of,  91 

abstinence  of,  9I 

contests  of,  9I 

young  of,  93 

range  of,  94 

enemies  of,  94 

hunting  for,  95 

intelligence  of,  96 
Sea-serpent,    he,  152 

various  reports  of,  165-181 
Seaweed,  417-422 
Seton-Thompson,  Ernest,  9 
Shakespeare  quoted,  68 
Shark,  Thresher,  the,  foe  of  right 

whales,  45 
Sharks,  97-113 

have  no  bones,  97 

description  of,  98 

eater  of  human  flesh,  98 

appetite  of,  99 

life^story  of,  99-106 

superstitions  about,  104 

fishing  for,  105 

young  of,  105 

species  of,  106 

voracity  of,  109 

range  of,  ill 

as  food,  314 
Sicily,  184 

Silliman,     Professor,     OS 
serpents,  172 


Index 


429 


Simenchelys,  155 
Sirenia,  73-76 

vegetarianism  of,  7i 
Skate,  98,  112 

a  gigantic,  112 
Skip-jack,  102,  133,  217 
Sleep  of  animals,  363 
Smith,  Mr.  S.,  372 
Snapper,  327 
Snoek,  318 

Solander  Ground,  36,  37 
Soles,  326 
South  Georgia,  84 
South  Island,  25 
South  Shetlands,  84 
Southern  Right  Whale,  48-50 
Sperm  Whale,  autobiography  of, 

13-38 

head  of,  14 

school  of,  14 

eyes  of,  14 

parasites  of,  20 

wound  of,  23 

contest  \\  ith  cuttle-fish,  24 

growth  of,  25 

wamiiig  of  danger,  27 

chase  of,  27 

prisoned  by  iceberg,  29 

food  of,  30 

sexes  of,  3 1 

battles  of,  32-36 

boats  destroyed  by,  36 

life  of,  37 
Spermaceti,  40 
Spharga  coriacea,  115 

life-story  of,  11 5-1 19 
Sphyroena,  310 
Sprat,  the,  301 

sold  as  sardines,  302 

habits  of,  303 

fishmg  for,  303 
Squalidae,  98 
Squalus  maximus,  1 80 
Squid.    See  also  Decapods. 

facts  about,  140 
Stern  Fitter,  375 
Stewart  Island,  128 
Stickleback,  97 
Sting  Ray,  1 10 
Stinker,  373 


Stork  at  sea,  396 
Stormy  Pefel,  368 

desciiption  of,  369 

musky  smell  of,  370 

food  of,  372 

life-story  of,  376-385 
Strabo,  i?3 
Stronsa,  fossil  in,  180 
Suckers,  44,  103,  108 
Sucking-fish,  273 
Sulphur  Bottom  Whale,  64 
Sunday  trading,  257 
Swallows  at  sea,  39J 
Swordfish,     the     foe    of    nght 
whales,  44 

description  of,  263-272 

fishing  for,  264 

powers  of,  264 

life-story  of,  264-273 

enemies  of,  267 

contests  of,  270 

Tarpon,  308 

fishing  for,  309 
Thalassians,  121 
Thresher  Shark,  the  foe  of  ri^t 
whales,  45 

description  of  the  .shark,  98, 
108 
Thynnus  sarda,  217-220 
Thyr sites,  310 
Thyrsitops  violaceus,  325 
Tiger  Shark,  98 
Tile-fish,  159-162 
Toilers  of  the  Sea,  127 
Tonga,  51 
Trig  la  cuculus,  235 
Trig  la  hirundo,  235 
Tropic  Bird,  356-358 
Trout  taken    to  New  Zealand, 

321 
Trumpeter,  327 
Tunny.     See  Albacore 
Turtle,  the,  1 14-126 

description  of,  114 

range  of,  1 14 

lite-story  of,  1 1 5-1 19 

egg-laying,  118' 

young  of,  119 

food  of,  121 


430  Inde: 


& 


:  .3 


■^  < 
■■r.S 


Turtle— (cO«/?«w^^ 
fecundity  of,  133 
as  food,  123 
hunting  for,  123 
vitality  of,  125 

'Up  a  Waterspout,'  166 

Vau  Vau,  109 

Walrus,  the,  77-82 

description  of,  77,  79 

food  of,  79 

stomach  of,  79 

brain  of,  80 

parental  love,  80 

foes  of,  81 

hunting  for,  81 

decreasing  numbers  of,  81 
Weddell,  Captain,  49 
West  Indies,  the  Barracouta  at, 

310 
'West  York,'  225 
'Western  Belle,'  story  of,  359 
Westminster  Gazette,  i66 
Whale  Birds,  351 

description  of,  352 

range  o^  355 


Whale,    the,    monarch    of    the 

deep,  10 
Whale,  Bottle-nose,  66 
Whale,  Humpback,  45,  51-58 
Whale,  Killer,  43 
Whale,  the  Right,  39-50 
Whale,  Rorquals,  59-72 
Whale,  Sperm,  autobiography  of 

13-38 

Whale,  White,  66 

Whale  fishery,  46-48,  54-56, 62-64 

Whalebone,  42 

White  Seal,  9,  10,  73 

White  Whale,  66,  67,  70 

Whitebait,  305 

Whiting,  275,  289 

Wilson,  Dr.  A.,  173,  174 

'Wm.  V.  Hutchings,"  159 

Wyman,  Professor,  on  sea- 
serpents,  172 

Xiphias,  the  foe  of  right  whales, 
44,  107,  263-272 

Yarmouth  herring  fishery,  294 

Yates,  403,  404 
Yellow-lail,  327 

Zeuglodon,  169 


the 


